Still Alive: Phase I - In The Editing Process
by CrackPairingLover
Summary: What if Kazuma didn't die? What if the Boundary just teleported him in another world instead of destroying his body? Join Kazuma Kval as he somehow ends up in the world of Remnant and making new friends, meeting new enemies, having new adventures and…romance? That's impossible…right?
1. Phase 1

**Hi everyone!**

 **Welcome to Still Alive!**

 **This is my second FanFiction, with the first one being Resident Evil: Operation Planet Evacuation. However, I decided to delete it since it wasn't really that popular.**

 **Just so you guys know, I don't really know much about Kazuma Kval, since the light novel is not translated. So yeah, reading the Wiki is my only way of gathering info about the guy, so there's that. This is a FanFiction, so I'll be making him act like how I think he does before he met Yuuki Terumi.**

 **As stated in the Wiki, Kazuma Kval is known to be a kind, curious, and sometimes weird person.**

 **He'll also be able to use the same powers like Hazama and Terumi, summoning those dark serpents to attack their opponents and wielding the Nox Nyctores, Geminus Anguium: Ouroboros.**

 **I know it's not possible, but this is a FanFiction, so please bear with me.**

 **Anyway, enough of my ramblings. It's time for you guys to read this story.**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

It was dark, and he couldn't see a thing. All he could see was darkness, and more darkness.

No light whatsoever.

It was cold, but all he could do was wait.

Wait for what?

The boy himself did not know.

"So...this is the Boundary," he said to no one in particular with a sad smile on his features. After everything that's happened, he was really starting to regret trusting that ghost.

Speaking of which, after separating himself from Terumi, he felt at peace.

Was this the effects of the Boundary?

It was a possibility, but he did not know.

The green-haired vessel took a moment to scan his surroundings, but what met his eyes made him frown.

Darkness.

All around him.

Then, his eyes widened. The realisation of all the things he'd done struck him so fast that even a bolt of lightning couldn't compete without failing.

"I...I killed them. I killed _her._ This is all my fault..."

Tears began to form in his eyes, and he later gazed down at his trembling hands.

All of this happened because of him. Because of him, _she_ died.

Why only now did he realise it?

Is it because he wasn't insane or sharing his body with Terumi anymore?

Another possibility.

That being said, sharing his body with Terumi sure caused a handful of unwanted effects. Effects such as going insane bit by bit as well as taking sick joy in watching the pain of others.

But he felt none of that anymore.

His kind personality was back, and he _wasn't_ insane.

But how?

Even he would like to know the answer, but all that he could think of was that it's the effects of the Boundary. No more, no less.

"No, it was his fault. Not mine." He gritted his teeth in anger and glared down at his hands. But then, a sudden thought came to mind. "But...none of this would've happened if..."

Another cruel realisation dawned on him.

It clearly _was_ his fault. If only he had ignored Terumi's words. Instead, he listened, and look where that got him.

"So...it _is_ my fault." The young vessel wiped away his tears, only for him to release a quiet sigh shortly after.

Seconds passed by, turning into minutes.

The young vessel stayed silent while hugging his knees in the darkness. And after what felt like hours, he shoved both his hands inside his pockets, only to realise that there were something in both of said pockets.

Pulling the items out, he stared at them.

"Terumi probably had these in my pockets when he was in control of my body..."

In his hands were two silver butterfly knives. They looked clean. There were no signs of blood, so it was probably new and Terumi had never gotten to use them in combat, which he was a bit glad for.

"Heh...should I kill myself with these?" he asked himself while staring at the knives.

However, before he could think of anything else, a small light appeared far in the distance. He had to blink twice to know if he wasn't going insane. Again.

But the light remained where it originally was, only for it to suddenly start growing more and more brighter as well as bigger without giving out any signs of warning whatsoever.

"W-What?" He covered his eyes because of the light's sheer brightness, and before he knew it, an unknown force of sorts started pulling him forward. "W-What in the world is happening!?" he shouted in panic and quickly shielded his face with his arms, preparing for the worst.

 **-IIXII-**

It was like any other day in Beacon Academy. Boring lectures, food fights, you name it.

Team RWBY were walking down the empty hallway with tired looks across their faces. Ruby Rose, the team's leader, let out a tired yawn and stretched her arms out. "What a day! I wanna go back to our dorm and sleep, but enough about me. You guys have anything planned or anything?" she inquired, turning around with a cheerful smile on her cute face.

"I'm going to head to the library for a bit," said Blake, the quiet bookworm of their team. "There are a few books which I plan on reading, so I might return to our dorm in the next few hours."

The blonde who was standing right next to the bookworm couldn't help grinning at that. "You're not reading smut again are you?"

"Yang, they are not smut," Blake hissed, face flushed. "They're works of art."

Yang rolled her eyes upon hearing that, simply because she was fully aware of the type of books that her partner had been reading. It was pretty obvious, actually. "Sure they are," she responded with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, grinning mischievously as she did.

"Whatever..." The dark-haired girl grumbled something to herself and later crossed her arms under her breasts, looking away with a huff soon after. "Someone like you would never understand the concept of art."

"I, for one, do not have any plans for today," the girl in white clothing told Ruby with her icy stare, all the while ignoring the other two. "I just want to return to our dorm and have some rest," she stated.

"Got it." Ruby giggled. "I'm tired too, so I need my nap." She gave another tired yawn, this time covering her mouth with one hand, before turning to her older sister. "Yang, how about you? Got any plans?"

The blonde in question shrugged in response. "Not really. I guess sleeping is my top priority for now."

"Well, I guess the library can wait..." Blake murmured to herself.

"Yay! Blakey's joining us!" the blonde cheered, but was immediately silenced when a sharp glare was sent flying in her direction, courtesy of Blake.

"Okay, so it's settled. Now come on! I'm getting tired of watching you two!" exclaimed Weiss, who was slightly irritated.

"Whoa, calm yourself Ice Queen. Keep this up and you might melt," Yang teased, grinning widely as she did so.

Before Weiss could say anything in return, however, a circle of light appeared on the ceiling above her and the others.

Let it be known to everyone that weird things tend to happen in Beacon Academy on a daily basis, and no one was able to say otherwise. Hell, the fact that Nora was discovered shocking herself with a taser in one of the training rooms by Glynda Goodwitch a couple of days ago was a perfect example of such weirdness, but even then, that was nowhere near the level of what Team RWBY were currently witnessing as of right now.

 _This_ , was on a whole new level entirely.

"Uh...guys? What am I looking at here?" Ruby asked while keeping her gaze locked onto the light, slightly amazed. Then without warning, a pair of hands appeared and grabbed her by the shoulders, and she was then later pulled away.

Ruby turned her head around, and realised that it was just Yang. That being said, her other two teammates were already at a safe distance, gazing at the light with confused expressions.

Talk about leaving their leader behind.

"Why did you guys leave me!?" Ruby yelled out while flailing her arms around in an adorable manner.

"We'll talk about that later. For now, I want to know what that thing is," Yang said, all the while keeping her gaze focused in the light's direction.

Ruby blinked once, then nodded. And with that, she turned herself around and focused her attention on the light as well. "Right. But first, let's be careful and make sure that-"

"E-Eh!?" a voice sounded.

Team RWBY were shocked to see someone falling out of the light, who later painfully crashed himself onto the cold floor.

"Ow!" the newcomer yelped in pain.

"Eep!" Ruby squeaked in shock.

"How!?" Weiss pointed at the newcomer with widened eyes.

"What!?" Blake dropped her books onto the floor in complete shock.

"Whoa!" Yang took a couple of steps back.

The newcomer slowly sat himself up, rubbing his aching arm with his other hand while wincing every now and then.

"How...was that even possible?" he asked himself, completely oblivious to his surroundings, including the girls who were currently watching him.

He actually considered himself lucky to be able to keep his knives away when gravity started working its magic on him. Heck, the thought of an alternate possibility where he could've accidentally stabbed himself upon crashing against the cold floor was enough to make him shudder.

"Um...h-hello?"

In instinct, he immediately went up and whirled around, entering a combat stance without hesitation.

"Eep!" Ruby squeaked once more.

Yang took a step forward and held up her hands. "Whoa, calm down there," she said to him with a small grin, and did her best to look all friendly so that the guy wouldn't freak out. Honestly, freaking him out was the last thing she wanted to do.

"W-What? Where am I? Who are you people?" he asked, still keeping his guard up.

"We are the ones who should be asking _you_ those questions." She dropped her arms to her sides and stared at him, her grin not present anymore. "Now relax, will you? We're all friends here."

After receiving those words from her, the vessel finally allowed himself to relax and lower his guard a bit, but only a bit. Though, no one can blame him for that.

Blake and Weiss cautiously eyed the newcomer, while Ruby hid behind Yang, occasionally peeking her head from her sister's side in order to get a good look at the the newcomer as well.

"So uh...what's...what's your name?" Ruby asked, only for her to hide behind Yang shortly after.

With the way she's acting, the girl seemed pretty cute, but he didn't want to admit that out loud. It would make the situation a lot more weirder than it already was, and he had no intention of saying such a thing right after arriving in this unknown location. Wherever this was, anyway.

Then, the girl's question came to mind, and he mentally scolded himself for taking so long to answer. In their eyes, he probably looked like a complete fool right now.

Oh well.

The vessel sighed, before a small smile took over his face.

"My name...is Kazuma Kval."

 **-IIXII-**

 **And that's a wrap!**

 **Phase 2 will begin shortly. Though, I don't know when I'll get to update. But hey, I hope that this was enjoyable at the very least!**

 **And the Boundary thing...I made that up too, I guess. But this is a FanFiction, so everything's possible!**

 **Well, I'll see you guys later then!**


	2. Phase 2

**Hello again!**

 **Welcome to Phase 2 of Still Alive!**

 **First things first, I'm really happy to see 3 people following this story. It means a lot to me, y'know?**

 **As thanks, I decided to release Phase 2 much more early than it's original release date. I hope you guys will enjoy!**

 **Anyway, let us proceed with the story!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

The hallway was silent.

Some of the students who were passing by saw the whole scene, and to say that they were all shocked was truly an understatement.

The newcomer, who had introduced himself as Kazuma Kval, tilted his head to one side in confusion. "Did I...say something wrong?" he asked, and only seconds later did he finally notice the stares which came from the students all around.

"Uh...dude, you like...fell out of that light and..." Yang trailed off, sweating slightly.

"This guy...is definitely weird," Ruby whispered, only to quickly cower behind her sister once more when Kval's gaze landed on her.

However, Kval gasped when Yang's words finally hit him. He then turned to the light on the ceiling, squinting his eyes a bit. It was still there, but seconds later it vanished away without a trace. Thus, leaving him with more questions rather than answers.

And before the vessel even had a chance to think of anything else, a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Eh?"

The next thing Kval knew, he was pinned down to the floor by an older woman who was wearing glasses. The look on her face clearly told him that she was angry, and it was sure as hell terrifying.

"Young man, you are coming with me to the Headmaster's Office!" she exclaimed angrily, all the while glaring at him with her light green eyes.

"U-Uh..." was all he could say in return while the people around him began to whisper to one another. He was about to say more, but unfortunately, the woman chose that particular moment to knock him out before he was able to do so.

And the last thing he saw before he blacked out was purple light.

Kval was met with darkness once again.

 **-IIXII-**

With a wave of her crop, the newcomer's body was quickly engulfed in purple light, right before being lifted off the floor. Glynda adjusted her glasses and turned to face her students, looking at them sternly. "Students, please stay in your dorms until this matter is settled," she said before walking off.

"Well...that was a thing," was all Yang managed to say.

"What...just happened?" Weiss asked. She gazed at the sight of Glynda walking down the hall with Kval's limp body floating at her side, and was unable to resist the urge to blink in order to make sure if she wasn't going insane or anything. It was one hell of a weird sight, but this _was_ Beacon Academy.

"B-Beats me," said Ruby, only for her to glare at her teammates moments later. "But why did you guys leave me back there!? Do you even know how hurt I am because of this!?"

The three girls immediately avoided eye contact with the little reaper, unable to meet her questioning gaze.

"S-Sorry about that, Ruby. A-Anyway, Professor Goodwitch told us to wait in our dorms until further notice so..." Yang trailed off. She looked over at Blake and Weiss for help, but neither of them did. Those traitors.

"Hmp...fine. I forgive you guys, but just this once!" Ruby folded her arms at that.

"I wonder where he came from?" Blake lowered herself down and began picking up her fallen books from the floor. "He seemed...lost, or something. I don't know, it's weird."

"Yeah. The guy literally came out of nowhere," Yang said. She gazed at the floor, deep in thought. "I've never seen anything like it..."

A gasp was heard.

"C-Could it be!?"

Blake paused herself from collecting her books and turned to Ruby, furrowing her brows shortly after. "What is it?"

"It's a possibility," Ruby muttered.

Everyone's gaze landed on the scythe wielder.

"H-He's...he's an alien!"

 **-IIXII-**

"I've never seen anything like this," said Glynda, who was currently pacing back and forth in Ozpin's office. Though, no one can blame her for acting like this.

Ozpin, on the other hand, kept quiet in his seat as he gazed at his ever-present coffee mug, seemingly deep in thought. But unlike Glynda, whom he trusted with a lot of things, he seemed to be taking things a lot more calmly, but that was to be expected from a person such as Headmaster Ozpin.

Kval, who had woken up a few minutes earlier, was sitting in a chair that was placed in the middle of the large office. He was feeling rather uncomfortable, and began to fidget in his chair for once every few seconds when the woman sent him a harsh glare.

Glynda slowly made her way towards Ozpin and stood beside him, folding her arms and later eyeing the vessel, and that unintentionally made him feel all the more uncomfortable. However, even if she knew that, then she probably wouldn't have cared. This was a serious matter, after all.

"Glynda, calm down. No harm was done to the students," Headmaster Ozpin reminded. He then proceeded to land his gaze on the person seated in front of him, and later offered said person a warm smile. "Hello, young man. I am Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy. Would you mind telling us your name?"

"M-My name is Kazuma Kval. It's a p-pleasure to meet you!" Kval looked to the white-haired man and immediately straightened himself in his chair, nervously at that. "My apologies for not introducing myself..." Feeling ashamed, he moved his gaze down to his lap in order to avoid their eyes, but mostly Glynda's. Those light green orbs gave him the chills.

Ozpin, however, smiled warmly at the apology. "It's fine. But I'd like to ask you an important question, Mister Kval."

The young vessel fixed his gaze on Headmaster Ozpin, blinking a couple of times all the while feeling slightly nervous.

"How did you managed to enter Beacon Academy without getting caught by any of our staff members?"

Kval started sweating all over at the question, because he honestly didn't know _how_ to answer it. No one would believe him if he told them that he came from another world. That would be ridiculous.

Kval had realised the situation he was in the moment he saw the city outside the large window of the office. The place looked far more different than the one where he was from. With just one glance, he could easily tell the difference.

No one knew it, but he was a lot more smarter than he appeared to be. He was the observant type, after all.

But how else was he supposed to answer the question?

Should he just tell them the truth?

Should he just lie to them?

Should he just jump out of that large window or find another way to escape?

He needed to act. _Now_.

"I...I don't know the answer to that myself."

Well, it wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie either, so it was good enough to him.

Ozpin went silent and gazed at Kval, before sighing. "Well...that's acceptable. Miss Goodwitch told me earlier that you came out of that circle of light, which of course, appeared out of nowhere."

Kval sighed in relief. Convincing Ozpin was honestly a lot more easier than he'd expected, and that managed to get a smile out of him. He needed to clear up these complicated things as soon as possible, so that it wouldn't bite him back in the ass later on.

Glynda, on the other hand, glared daggers at him. She was clearly not buying it.

"And your clothes..." Ozpin narrowed his eyes. "Tell me young man, which school are you from?"

"I'm from the Mage's Guild," Kval answered, only to receive a puzzled look from Ozpin soon after. "Is something wrong?"

"I've never heard of that school before," stated Ozpin, adjusting his glasses as he did so.

Kval went wide-eyed upon realising his mistake, revealing his yellow serpentine eyes. Though, good thing they were hidden under his long bangs.

However, if Ozpin _did_ took note of his eyes, then his face did a pretty good job at hiding the signs.

"Um...let's just say I'm not actually from around here," Kval finally said.

Ozpin eyed the vessel for a couple of seconds, and later nodded. "I see. And about your school. Was it a combat school?"

Nodding slowly, Kval opened his mouth and started explaining. "Yes, it was. But they never really taught us much about combat. Not practically, but they do at certain times. Though, it's not common." He scratched his cheek at that, unsure of what else he should say.

"Interesting..." And with that, Ozpin suddenly rose up from his chair. He placed his hands behind his back, while a casual smile played across his lips. "I have a proposition to make, Mister Kval. You can either stay here and start learning things with the rest of the students," Glynda whipped her head towards Ozpin, displeased. " _or_ , you can simply walk away and we will forget that this encounter ever happened."

Kval was taken aback by the sudden offer. All he could do right now was stare at the man in utter disbelief.

"I...don't understand."

"I'm doing you a favor, young man. From what I can tell, you don't have any lien on you. And earlier you told me that you weren't from around here, so it's quite obvious that you are a long way from home." He chuckled. "Here in Beacon Academy, we can provide you food, education, and shelter. So there is nothing to worry about."

"But...why me?" Kval inquired, confused as to why the man was giving a big offer like this to a stranger such as himself.

"I'm just doing what I think is right, young man." The Headmaster chuckled once more. "So, will you accept my offer," He set the mug in his hand down onto his desk, and proceeded to smile slightly. "or, will you walk away?"

"I..."

 **-IIXII-**

"When will we be allowed to get out of this room!?" Yang groaned while she stared up at the ceiling, lying around comfortably on her bunk bed.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Wasn't sleeping your top priority?"

"You expect me to sleep like a log after all that?" Yang sat herself up and frowned at her younger sibling. "I'd be crazy if I were to ignore something like that..."

"Uh...good point." Ruby nodded in agreement.

Weiss stopped her reading and decided to join in on the conversation. "Whoever he was, I'm sure Headmaster Ozpin can handle him."

"He could be infiltrating this place for all we know," Blake sounded, her amber eyes still locked onto one of the pages of her book. She failed to notice her teammates tensing up at her comment, and only five seconds later did she finally took note of it. "I'm just saying," she added, which made the other three relax a bit.

"But did anyone get a good look at his eyes?" Ruby said, successfully catching her teammates' undivided attention.

"Not really. If I remember correctly, his bangs were...in the way. Quite literally," Yang said, and later buried her face in her pillow when a small groan left her lips. "Dust, I'm getting more and more curious about that guy. What was he up to even?"

"Don't make such things bother you, Yang. He's probably being escorted out of Beacon as we speak." Weiss closed her book once she was done reading and immediately took her spot somewhere on her bed. "That, I am sure."

The sound of knocking came from the door before the conversation could get anymore further, and that seemed to puzzle Team RWBY for a moment. They weren't really expecting visitors, what with all the things that's transpired, so this was somewhat confusing to them. Though, it was probably just Team JNPR.

And with that, Ruby went to the door and opened it up, and was surprised to find the Headmaster of Beacon standing there with a casual smile on his face.

"Headmaster Ozpin. What can we do for you?" Ruby inquired, blinking a couple of times in confusion.

"I am here to inform you that we will be having a new student joining our academy, and that I had him assigned to your team," Ozpin told the Huntress-in-training, and later chuckled to himself.

"A n-new member? On m-my team? Team RWBY?" Ruby began stuttering, and was later speechless to see the mysterious man nodding his head.

"Though, I wouldn't say that he's _officially_ your fifth member," Ozpin said. "Unfortunately, no other students were available, so having him as an extra was the only solution."

Weiss and Blake stared at the Headmaster in disbelief, unsure of what to say.

Without even moving her head away from her pillow, Yang could easily tell that her sister was happy and excited. She had always been like that back in Patch whenever she got a new present from Taiyang or herself, and this wasn't any different. But she had to wonder. Who was the lucky person?

Blake closed her book and eyed the Headmaster. From the looks of it, he wasn't joking about them getting a new member. Weiss, on the other hand, was being as curious as ever. She walked towards Ruby and took her spot right beside her in order to hear more about the details.

"When can we meet him?" asked Ruby, sounding a bit too eager if one may say.

Ozpin tilted his head to one side, and offered the girl a smile before saying, "Now."

"Huh?" Weiss stared at him.

"From this day forward, this young man will be assigned to your team as an extra." Ozpin cleared his throat and stepped aside, revealing the same weird guy from earlier, who was currently pressing his fingers together with what others would call a nervous expression.

"Eep!" Ruby squeaked upon seeing him.

"What!?" Weiss exclaimed.

Yang tore her head away from her pillow and locked her gaze onto the vessel, surprised. "It's him!" she exclaimed while pointing at him, which made him flinch unintentionally.

"Make sure you girls treat him nicely now," Ozpin said.

Blake eyed Kval for a few seconds, before turning to Ozpin with a questioning look. "Headmaster Ozpin, I hope you wouldn't take this the wrong way, but...why us?"

"Well, the people who he first interacted with when he appeared were you four, correct?" Ozpin chuckled when they nodded. "That's why. Now," He turned to Kval. "off you go."

Before the girls were even able to say anything, Headmaster Ozpin chose that particular moment to push Kval right inside their room. And with that, he closed the door and left, smiling all the while.

Thus, leaving the room's occupants in an awkward situation.

The air grew tense.

Realising that the silence was making the situation more awkward than it already was, Kval decided to suck it up and later presented Team RWBY with a nervous smile.

"Um...hi?"

 **-IIXII-**

 **And that's the end of Phase 2.**

 **So, what did you guys think of it? Enjoyable, no?**

 **Anyway, Phase 3 will show Kval's first time living together with Team RWBY in their dorm room. Not in a dirty way of course! That would without a doubt kill him. And you guys probably hadn't noticed, but Phase 2 has reached up to 2000 words! Yay to that!**

 **Looks like I'll be seeing you guys again later in Phase 3. Peace out!**


	3. Phase 3

**Welcome to Phase 3 of Still Alive!**

 **Well, this story is now my top priority. I got like 157 views, 4 followers, 2 favorites and 2 reviews. Despite it not being that much, it still means a lot to me. Thank you Rebel-Raven4 and...uh...Guest!**

 **I'm really glad to know that you guys are enjoying my story. As thanks, again, I decided to update earlier than originally planned. So with that all said and done, I hope you'll enjoy Phase 3!**

 **As always, I do not own BlazBlue nor RWBY.**

 **There, I said it. You happy?**

 **Don't worry, I was just messing with you guys!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **-IIXII-**

Each members of Team RWBY, who were in their casual clothes, continued to stare at him, and that made him nervous. All he could do to make himself feel less uncomfortable was to focus his gaze onto the nearby desk, rubbing his arm with his other hand as he did. "Uh...a pleasure to meet you girls. M-My name is Kazuma Kval. We've met earlier," he said.

"You're that guy who came out of that light!" Yang proclaimed with widened eyes, still pointing at him. This prompted the others to land their eyes on her, giving her weird looks. "What?"

"Congratulations Yang, you won a prize," Weiss muttered sarcastically and rolled her eyes. She then eyed the vessel with her icy stare, then folded her arms. "My name is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

Kval tilted his head to the side in utter confusion, which prompted Weiss to rub her forehead with an irritated expression. It was clear to them that the vessel was further confused upon witnessing the heiress' reaction.

"Does anyone even know who I am?"

"I-I'm sorry," Kval apologised, only to receive an icy glare from the girl in response. "U-Uh..."

Ruby placed a hand onto her partner's shoulder, laughing nervously. "N-Now Weiss, be nice..." She fixed her gaze onto Kval, and later offered him a small smile. "H-Hi! My name is Ruby. Ruby Rose. But you can just call me Ruby." She held out her hand towards him. "A pleasure to meet you, Kazuma."

Kval took a few seconds to gaze at the girl's hand, and later took it with his own. He gave her hand a firm shake and smiled as well. "Y-Yeah. And I truly apologise for being so...sudden." He pulled his hand back to his side, and was unable to resist scratching his head. "It must be troublesome for you girls to have an extra member."

Ruby shook her head, all the while waving her hands around frantically. "N-No, it's okay! Well...sure it was surprising to suddenly have an extra person assigned to our team, b-but no harm was done!" Figuring that he at least understood the gist of what she meant, Ruby turned around and faced the others. "Team RWBY, introduce yourselves to our new member!" she ordered with a bit of pride in her voice, and later added, "Be nice."

Yang jumped down from her bunk bed in an instant, just so she could hold Kval in a headlock. "Gotcha!"

"E-Eh!?" Kval stared at the blonde from the corner of his eyes, caught off-guard. "Wha...?"

"Name's Yang Xiao Long, but you can just call me Yang. I'm Ruby's older sister by the way." Yang grinned a wide grin, and said, "Nice to have you with us, rookie."

"I-Is she always like this?" Kval asked the scythe wielder.

"Yeah...sort of," Ruby answered with a small shrug, already used to her older sister's antics.

As he was busy attempting to free himself from the blonde's unsurprisingly tight grip, only to fail miserably over and over at that, Kval did not take notice of a certain black-haired girl standing right in front of him, who seemed to be scanning his body from head to toe with her amber eyes.

When he finally noticed, however, Kval immediately stopped his struggling and returned the stare with his own. "Um...hi?" he greeted with a nervous smile.

"My name is Blake Belladonna, but you can just call me Blake. It's nice to meet you, Kazuma." She gave Kval a curt nod, her expression nothing but stoic.

"Ah...s-sure..." Kval took note of the black bow on the top her head, and lifted his eyebrows a bit when it suddenly twitched. "Hm?" He tilted his head to one side, causing the black-haired girl to raise one of her eyebrows, before eyeing him suspiciously.

"Is something the matter, Kazuma?" Blake inquired.

"N-No, nothing's wrong," Kval quickly said, chuckling nervously shortly after that. He then shifted his gaze to the blonde who was keeping him in place, and asked, "M-Mind letting me go now?"

Yang's grin grew a tad bit wider, and she answered Kval's question with a simple "Nope!"

"E-Eh!?" Kval exclaimed.

 **-IIXII-**

Ozpin stared out the large window of his office, and couldn't help but enjoy the nice view of his very own academy. He took a quick sip of his coffee to make the feeling all the more better, but thanks to Glynda, who kept pacing around back and forth, he was unable to fully enjoy the flavor of his hot beverage, nor the feeling.

"Ozpin, mind explaining to me the reason why you offered him the choice of learning in this prestigious academy?" Glynda scowled. "I am in need of an answer."

Ozpin sighed. "As I've said before Glynda, I merely chose my decision simply because it was the right thing to do. That young man was clearly not from around here, with no lien. So do you expect me to send him out there to live in the streets of Vale?"

"No..." she muttered. "Fair enough. And I did some research on his old school. However, I couldn't find any information on it whatsoever." Glynda shook her head, and later found herself staring out the large window. "Is it really possible?"

"There are things that even we don't know, Glynda," Ozpin stated. "The world itself is a mysterious place."

Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose and resisted the urge to sigh. "That being said, will he really be allowed to use it in his classes? I am against the idea, Ozpin."

"Well, he seems to take quite a liking to his own uniform. So why bother forcing him to change when he likes it so much?" Ozpin chuckled. "Besides, the uniform looks rather good on him."

"Fine. But why Team RWBY?" Glynda turned to her superior, quite curious.

Ozpin smiled. He went to his desk in order for him to set his empty mug there, and later made his way back towards the large window, staring outside. "Team RWBY seems to get along with everyone, Glynda," he stated simply, ignoring the glare which he was currently receiving from the strict woman.

"That's it?" Glynda asked through gritted teeth, her left eye twitching slightly in anger.

"Show some trust in me, Glynda. I assure you that the decision I made was not a mistake. In fact, the girls were delighted when they received the news." The mere thought of Kval receiving weird looks from the four girls back in their dorm room made Ozpin chuckle. If he could, he'd go and install a camera just so he could watch the whole thing.

"If you say so." Glynda shuddered, if only for a bit. "That boy just...puts me on edge every time he looks at me."

"The way I see it, Kval is a kind and gentle young man, but he certainly needs to work on his social skills. The young man himself reminds me of Ruby Rose, although a lot more quieter in comparison." Ozpin chuckled once more. He then turned to Glynda, and offered her a small smile. "Now, would you be so kind as to pour me another cup of coffee? I'm empty."

All Glynda could do was roll her eyes at the request. She picked up Ozpin's empty mug from the desk, and later began filling it up with his favorite coffee.

 **-IIXII-**

"So you don't have any extra clothes to wear?" Ruby inquired with a tilt of her head.

"I guess not. All I have are these." Kval gestured to his clothes with a sheepish smile. He grew rather uneasy when they stared at him. "I-I can buy my clothes tomorrow..."

Weiss sighed. "I doubt you have any lien in your pockets."

Kval raised an eyebrow at that, seemingly confused. "Lien? What's that?"

The girls stared at him in complete shock. Kval seriously didn't know what lien was, and whether if he was being serious or simply joking, they honestly couldn't tell.

"You...serious?" Yang questioned, shocked. And not only her, but even Blake was equally shocked. Heck, Weiss was no different.

But Ruby, on the other hand, seemed to be taking it quite smoothly, oddly enough.

"Lien is money you dunce!" the heiress snapped, which made Kval flinch unintentionally.

"M-My apologies. I'm not from around here." Kval avoided Weiss' icy gaze and scratched his head. "But...thank you for clearing that up. Who knows what might happen to me in the future if you hadn't."

Weiss didn't know why, but the look which was plastered across Kval's face made her feel guilty. Though, it probably has something to do with him being docile. With how he acted, it was hard to scold him, especially if he kept acting like an innocent child who wouldn't stop blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault in the first place. "It's...okay. I'm sorry for snapping at you like that," she said.

Kval shook his head and smiled. "No, it's fine. Really."

"I knew it..." Ruby mumbled, gaining everyone's undivided attention.

Kval turned to Ruby, before raising an eyebrow. "Knew what?"

Ruby kept her gaze locked onto the floor, her eyes hidden under her hair. "I knew it the moment Professor Goodwitch took you away. Falling out of that light, not knowing what lien is..." Then all of a sudden, her expression sharpened. She pointed her finger at the vessel. "Kazuma!"

Kval was seriously frightened for a second there, but what came out of the girl's mouth made him blink. Twice.

"You're an alien!" Ruby accused.

The entire room was filled with silence.

Seconds passed by, but it felt like hours. Ruby was beginning to regret saying what she'd said, but the sound of someone laughing made her think otherwise. The girls of Team RWBY looked to one another, and later turned to Kval.

"T-That's ridiculous Ruby!" Kval covered his mouth in an attempt to stop his laughing, but his efforts were all in vain, unfortunately. Though, he sure seemed to be enjoying himself there. "M-My word..."

Weiss, Yang, and Blake looked to one another for a brief moment, only for them to smile and giggle shortly after. Thinking about it now, the thought of Kval being an actual alien was downright ridiculous.

Ruby, with her cheeks red, wasted no time in turning away from the others in pure embarrassment. She pouted to herself, but was startled a bit when a hand made itself comfortable on the top of her head.

"You're pretty funny for a team leader," Kval commented. He began to ruffle her hair like how a loving person would to a child, and that made Ruby blush even more.

"D-Don't treat me like a kid, Kazuma! I'm your leader! Your leader!" Ruby practically yelled at the vessel's face.

Kval chuckled. "Got it."

Yang elbowed Kval in the ribs, a wide grin plastered across her face. "Making a move on my little sister already? You're a bold one."

Kval took a moment to process what Yang had just said. His cheeks flared red once the pieces came together, and he immediately pulled his hand away from Ruby. "N-No I'm not!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah yeah..." Yang waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, about your bangs," she started.

An uneasy feeling settled in Kval's stomach. He didn't like where this was going. "W-What about them?" he asked.

"We just want to take a good look at your eyes," Blake sounded from right behind him. How she got there so quickly, Kval would never know.

Kval scratched his cheek. "I...rather not."

"Come on rookie," Yang grinned as she took a step forward. "I just want to see what color they are."

"Yang, I'm being serious here." Kval held up his hands in front of him and shook his head. "I'm not comfortable with showing my eyes to others."

"Come on, just for a little while. I won't bite or anything," Yang teased as she took another step forward.

"I. Said. _No_."

Kval stepped forward, and that alone was enough to make Yang stop her advances, back away even. Judging by the look on the blonde's face, it was quite clear that she hadn't expected him to act like this just because of his eyes.

In truth, Kval wasn't really mad at Yang, or any of them for that matter, but rather he was scared. He just couldn't find it in himself to imagine what their reactions would be if they were to know of his serpentine eyes. It honestly scared him.

Deep down, however, he knew that they'll find out eventually.

"I...lost myself there." Kval offered Yang an apologetic smile. "Forgive me, Yang. I went too far."

"It's...fine." Yang made a guilty look with her face and scratched the back of her head. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I...shouldn't have done that," she mumbled.

The entire room went silent at that.

"Alright, how about this?"

The girls looked to him.

"I'll show you girls my eyes..." Kval took in a deep breath, then continued, "...after you take me to the dining hall. I'm quite hungry."

The members of Team RWBY looked to one another, and later nodded in agreement.

"We agree," Weiss said.

Kval simply stared at them in total disbelief. "You girls...really want to see my eyes that badly huh?" He yelped when Yang came in and secured him in a headlock.

"Of course we do! And it's a deal!" Yang exclaimed.

"Deary me..." Kval sighed at the situation he was in, only to be suddenly released seconds later, much to his confusion.

"Now," Yang grinned. "get out."

"Eh?" Kval gave the blonde a puzzled look. "Why?"

Yang's grin grew somewhat wider than it was before. "Because we're going to change into our uniforms. You're not thinking of peeping on us, are you?" she teased, giggling when his cheeks turned a slight shade of red.

"O-Of course not! T-That being said, I'll be leaving now!" Kval took a few steps back, only to bump himself into Blake by accident. "I-I'm terribly sorry..." he apologised. He quickly made his way to the door, and left.

"Well...he's a shy one," Yang commented as she began to remove her vest.

"You really need to control your teasing Yang. You saw how he acted..." Blake warned as she also changed.

"I-I know," Yang mumbled. She moved her gaze over to the door, and frowned a bit. "I still can't believe the fact that _he_ apologised..."

"Who knows? He probably has a good reason for not wanting to show us his eyes," Weiss sounded, already in her uniform. "But I have to say, earlier he looked a bit...scared."

Ruby narrowed her eyes, already dressed in her own uniform. Like always, her red cape was attached to her back. "Really? From what I can tell, he looked pretty angry."

"Could be." Weiss shrugged. She then turned to Blake and Yang with a questioning gaze. "Are you two finished?"

Blake nodded in response.

Yang grinned and gave Weiss a thumbs up.

"Okay then. To the dining hall!" Ruby exclaimed with a fist raised, as excited as ever.

"No need to be so loud you dunce!" Weiss scolded.

Ruby laughed, albeit sheepishly. "S-Sorry..."

Weiss huffed. "You better be."

 **-IIXII-**

Kval was beginning to grow tired of the stares he was receiving, courtesy of the other students.

At first he thought that waiting outside was going to be an easy task, but boy was he wrong. When he first exited the room, students who had been passing by immediately stopped what they were doing and started giving him their full attention, not that he actually needed any of that anyway.

And Kval really disliked being at the center of attention.

But why?

Was it because of his uniform?

Was it because of his hair?

Well, he did came out of that light which appeared out of nowhere earlier today. Guess that explained everything.

Great.

In the end, all Kval could do was be patient and wait for the girls. Though, with the stares and all, it was pretty hard in his case.

After what felt like forever, the door leading to Team RWBY's room opened up, revealing the four members in their uniforms.

Yang looked to Kval and sent him a thumbs up. "Ready to go, rookie?" she asked.

Kval offered the blonde a sheepish smile. "Y-Yeah, I'm ready."

Yang took a moment to scan her surroundings, and later giggled. "You brought quite a crowd, Kazuma."

"I-It's not my fault that they're staring at me," he mumbled under his breath.

"Just ignore them. Now come on," Weiss sounded.

"That's...what I've been trying to do." Kval sighed, only for him to smile moments later. "Anyway, lead the way."

Blake nodded as a small smile graced her lips. "Just don't end up getting lost or anything."

Kval chuckled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"To the dining hall!" Ruby exclaimed, whose head received a sharp smack from Weiss not long after that.

 **-IIXII-**

 **And that's that!**

 **I hope this Phase was okay...**

 **I'm always a bit paranoid. Don't judge. And as for Phase 4, the members of Team JNPR will finally appear. How will they react when they hear of Team RWBY's new member?**

 **Well stay tuned to find out more!**

 **Also, thanks to all of you who reviewed and followed. It...really means a lot to me. I'll do my very best, so please keep on supporting me!**

 **Well, I'll see you guys again later in Phase 4!**


	4. Phase 4

**Welcome to Phase 4 of Still Alive!**

 **I'm really surprised to see some of you readers out there enjoying this story. Again, it means a lot.**

 **As thanks...again...I decided to release Phase 4 earlier than planned. Yeah. Again. So anyway, I hope that you'll enjoy this one!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **Do I seriously have to repeat this in every single Phase!?**

 **I-I was just joking.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **-IIXII-**

The walk to the dining hall would've been easy for Kval, if not for the stares presented to him by the other students. In fact, this was all just plain ridiculous! The people here were treating him as if he was some sort of rare animal, and he'd be insane if he were to enjoy being treated that way.

"Were the people here always this annoying?" Weiss grumbled under her breath. She seemed displeased because of obvious reasons, and judging by the look on Blake's face, she felt the same way as well. No surprises there.

Kval, on the other hand, wasn't really taking it too well. The vessel kept his eyes locked onto the ground as he tried his best to ignore the stares. Good thing he only needed to endure it for a little while longer.

Yang shrugged. "They'll stop staring eventually."

Kval put up a smile. "I hope so..."

Ruby can't say that she didn't feel bad for Kval. She knew quite well how it felt like to be in the center of attention, after all.

After a short while of walking, Team RWBY, along with their recently added member, finally reached their destination.

Kval sighed in relief upon seeing the sight of the dining hall's entrance. "I'm honestly glad that's over, but you girls should go and find us a table. I need to head to the restroom first," he said.

"Y-You sure? You might get stared at again," Ruby said worriedly, only to be confused when the young vessel started chuckling.

"I'll be fine. Now go on," Kval assured. He reached out and patted Ruby on the head which, unintentionally, made her blush.

"I'm not a kid!" she yelled.

Kval quickly pulled his hand away and smiled a sheepish smile. "S-Sorry. Go and find a place for us to sit, okay?" he said. Moments later he found himself following a bunch of signs that would lead him to the nearest restroom.

Ruby kept her eyes glued onto the vessel's back, before a small sigh escaped her lips. "Come on guys, let's go and find ourselves a table."

Upon entering the dining hall, the members of Team RWBY were immediately greeted with Nora's loud voice.

"Hey guys! Over here!" she yelled, prompting Ren, who was seated right next to her, to shake his head sideways at his childhood friend's antics. Jaune and Pyrrha, who were seated at the same table, gave Team RWBY their smiles and beckoned them over.

After taking their food, Team RWBY proceeded to make their way to where Team JNPR were seated at.

Placing her tray onto the table and taking her seat, Ruby turned to face Jaune and gave him a smug look. No words left her lips, but the look on her face remained in place.

"Uh...Ruby? Is there something that you would like to tell me?" Jaune asked, not entirely sure what the look on her face meant. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"I've just received a new member on my team," Ruby proudly stated, causing Ren to choke on his tea.

Jaune stopped eating his food and eyed Ruby with a suspicious look. "Are you serious?"

Pyrrha did the same, while Nora was busy patting Ren on the back to help him stop his coughing, which wasn't really helping that much.

The rest of Team RWBY merely rolled their eyes at this.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "Ruby is bragging about our new teammate. Typical."

Jaune immediately choked on his lunch upon hearing those particular words which had been uttered by the heiress. He quickly turned to said heiress and exclaimed, "Wait! Seriously!?"

Yang gave Jaune a wide grin and nodded. "You bet!"

"Well, where is she then?" Jaune asked, somewhat eagerly if one may say. Though, no one can blame him for being curious about Team RWBY's new member.

"Our new member has the opposite gender actually," Blake corrected the blond knight, but she made sure to keep her eyes locked onto the current page of her book while doing so.

"Lucky bastard," Jaune muttered under his breath, only to receive a smile from Pyrrha seconds later. Without warning, chills came running down his spine.

"What was that, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked with a small tilt of her head.

Despite it looking normal, everyone who were seated at the table, minus Nora, can easily tell that there was a well-hidden message somewhere behind that smile of hers. Whatever it was, no one would know.

But it was quite obvious really.

"I-It's nothing, Pyrrha. A-Anyway, what's he like?" Jaune added rather quickly.

Upon receiving the question, Team RWBY, including Blake, who had taken the time to lower her book, began to ponder on their friend's question.

After a few seconds, however, Blake was surprisingly the first one who was able to come up with an answer.

"Well, he's really mysterious," she said.

"Not to mention weird," Yang added.

"He's also a bit shy," Weiss added as well. "Also, it's a little hard to talk to him. He can be a bit slow at times."

"He's really kind too!" Ruby exclaimed with a bright smile, devouring her plate of chocolate chip cookies moments later.

"Wow...he sounds like a weird guy," Jaune said, in which they all nodded in agreement.

"Who's a weird guy?"

Jaune turned his head around when the new voice reached his ears, and the first person who entered his line of sight after doing so was some guy with green hair.

"W-Wait...green hair, those clothes..." Jaune's eyes widened in realisation. He whipped his head to Team RWBY. Well, Ruby in particular. "Wasn't he the guy who fell out of that light?" he whispered.

Kval tilted his head to one side in utter confusion, as he was oblivious as to what they were discussing.

"That's him. He's also the new member who we were talking about," Yang informed Jaune somewhat casually, and later decided to take a large bite out of her sandwich not long after that.

"I...I see." Jaune stared at his food.

"Have a seat, Kazuma. You don't want to stand there all day now, do you?" Weiss sounded while she was doing her nails, not tearing her eyes away from her work.

"O-Oh right, my apologies." Kval nodded and took a seat next to the heiress, smiling sheepishly as he did so.

Seeing that everyone was present, Ruby cleared her throat in order to get their attention, in which she succeeded. "Alright then. Kazuma, I would like you to meet Team JNPR. They're our friends here at Beacon, and I believe that you'll get along with them just fine."

Each and every one of the members of Team JNPR eyed the vessel, which unintentionally made him feel uncomfortable. Heck, it was like meeting Team RWBY for the first time all over again.

"Um...h-hi. My name is Kazuma Kval, but you can all just call me Kazuma." Kval gave them a small wave, albeit hesitantly.

"Nice to meet you dude. The name's Jaune Arc," the blond pointed at himself with his thumb, as a proud look took over his features. "Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies loves it."

Weiss rolled her eyes upon hearing this.

Kval stared at Jaune with what others would call a blank expression, and finally voiced out his thoughts by saying, "They do?"

Jaune folded his arms and looked away in an instant. "T-They will!"

Kval couldn't help the urge to smile upon witnessing Jaune's reaction, but his eyes were then suddenly covered up by a pair of hands which belonged to someone who he was unfamiliar with.

"Guess who?" a feminine voice sounded in a cheerful manner.

To be perfectly honest, Kval had no actual idea who this person was.

"Um...u-uh..." he stammered.

"Nora!" Ren scolded his childhood friend.

The energetic girl slowly uncovered Kval's eyes with a pout. "You're no fun," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry about that. I'm Lie Ren by the way, but you can just call me Ren." Ren gave Kval a small nod and flashed him a small smile.

"And I'm Nora!" the orange-haired girl exclaimed as she stood right next to Kval.

"She's Nora Valkyrie, my...childhood friend. Don't mind her," Ren said.

"I-I see. It's really nice to meet you two." Kval let out a nervous laugh. "I hope that we can get along in the coming future."

Pyrrha eyed Kval for a brief moment, and later decided that introducing herself to him wouldn't hurt. "Hello. My name is Pyrrha Nikos. But you can just call me Pyrrha." She smiled in a kind and polite manner. "It's a pleasure."

"N-Nice to meet you too, Pyrrha." Kval smiled nervously, which made the red-haired girl giggle.

"You're pretty shy, aren't you?" teased Pyrrha.

"Eh?" Kval turned to her, only for him to whip his head to the side in embarrassment later on. Not knowing what he should do, the young vessel quickly decided to take one of the boiled eggs from his bowl and nibble on it.

"Whoa!"

The voice of Jaune Arc caught his attention.

"Dude, that's a lot of boiled eggs you got there."

Everyone else seemed to take note of it as well, and the looks which each of them made with their faces explained everything. They were shocked.

Inside Kval's bowl was filled with nothing but boiled eggs. A whole _lot of them_. Hell, it looked like a nest.

Ever so slowly, everyone at the table turned to Kval, astounded.

"They're my favorite," Kval said, his voice barely audible. He focused his attention on the boiled egg in his hand and started nibbling on it once more.

"No need to be ashamed of, Kazuma. I eat pancakes all the time!" Nora gave the artificial human a thumbs up, along with a wide grin.

All Kval could do was nod, albeit nervously. "I-I see..."

"They're my favorite," the orange-haired girl whispered with a serious look, only for it to be replaced with a smile soon after.

Ren looked to his childhood friend and partner, and said, "Nora, sit down will you?" He then sighed, and later took a small sip of his tea. "You're making him feel uncomfortable."

"Got it Ren!" exclaimed Nora.

As Nora took her seat next to Ren, Kval decided to observe the two childhood friends with one of his eyebrows raised. Something was definitely going on between them, but after realising that it was none of his business, he simply brushed it off and took a bite out of his egg, enjoying the taste later on.

"Anyway...uh...Kazuma, where are you from?" Jaune asked, prompting Kval to stop his chewing.

Kval swallowed his food and replied, "I...I don't know really."

That was literally the best answer he could give them at the moment.

"Okay..." the blond knight said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly soon after. The others who were seated at the table gave weird looks to one another, as they were unsure if what he said was actually true.

"I hope you wouldn't mind me asking this, Kazuma, but how come you're not wearing Beacon's uniform?" Ren asked. He took a long sip of his tea, awaiting Kval's answer.

"Headmaster Ozpin told me that I could wear this instead." Kval gestured to his current clothes, and was startled to see Ren choking on his tea by accident. Again, for reasons unknown. "A-Are you okay?"

"T-That's clearly not fair..." Ren managed to say.

"You really need to stop drinking your tea when you're in a middle of a conversation," scolded Nora, who was now patting him on the back for support.

"Um...Kazuma, about your...hair," Pyrrha said, observing him carefully.

"Yeah?" Kval said once he was done eating his fifth boiled egg.

Pyrrha cleared her throat, then spoke.

"I hope that you won't mind me asking, but...how can you tell where you're going with your hair hanging over your eyes like that?"

Everyone at the table eyed the vessel suspiciously, and said vessel began to fidget in his seat every few seconds.

"L-Let's just say...that I'm used to it," Kval answered. He picked up another boiled egg from his bowl, and began to observe it as a fond smile found its way up to his face. He liked to observe the eggs before eating them, after all.

"Um...and about your eyes," Pyrrha started, only to gasp in surprise when Kval suddenly squeezed the boiled egg in his palm.

And after that one simple act, the entire table was filled with silence.

Luckily, it only lasted for a few seconds.

"Uh...Kazuma, are you feeling okay?" Ruby asked with a hint of worry in her voice. "Because you uh...don't look okay, and..."

"I'm fine," Kval assured the young girl with a smile. He then slowly rose up from his seat, and picked up his bowl, which was now nearly empty. "I'm going to get more boiled eggs, so I'll be back." And with that he left the table.

"What was that all about?" Jaune sounded, "He didn't look fine to me."

"He...doesn't really like to talk about his eyes that much." Yang kept her eyes glued onto Kval's back as he walked off, and later focused them on her little sister. "Ruby, how about we call the deal off? I don't feel comfortable with how things are..."

"Yeah, he can show us later...I guess." Ruby planted her head on the table, pouting ever so slightly. "And I was really looking forward to it too."

Pyrrha tilted her head slightly. "What are you two talking about?"

Blake closed her book. "Kazuma told us that he'd show us his eyes if we brought him here." She set her book down onto the table and took a small bite out of her tuna sandwich.

"Well, it was also Yang's fault in the first place," Weiss added. She glared at the blonde in question, which prompted said blonde to avert her eyes away from the heiress.

"I said I was sorry! How long are you gonna keep this up?" Yang said, but deep down she knew that Weiss was right.

"What happened!? What happened!?" Nora rose up from her seat in an instant, eyeing Team RWBY with her turquoise eyes. "I need to know!"

"Nora, sit down will you?" Ren said, earning himself a pout from the Valkyrie girl as she sat back down.

"But seriously, what happened!?" Nora asked yet again.

Ruby sighed. "Yang tried pushing her luck and...well, let's just say it didn't go too well."

Team JNPR sent the red reaper quizzical looks, and Ruby sighed deeper this time.

"She tried forcing him into showing us his eyes...but you guys should've seen how scared Yang was when he started looking all angry." Ruby giggled, and Yang wasted no time in looking away in utter embarrassment.

"I wasn't scared! I was just being careful..." Yang mumbled.

"He looked scared, in my opinion," Weiss joined in, "Kazuma probably has his reasons. I don't want to make him uncomfortable."

Blake smirked. "Well, you _did_ yell at him earlier today."

"Hey! I apologised, did I not?" Weiss folded her arms and sent the cat faunus an icy glare. "Seriously, he's pretty slow at times."

"But he's still nice!" Ruby chimed in with a bright smile.

"Hm...true. He is also pretty meek, to be honest," Blake agreed. "I bet he likes to read books like I do."

"And I bet he doesn't read smuts like you do." Yang chuckled with a roll of her eyes.

"They are not smut. They're works of art," Blake hissed. "How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"But guys, don't you think he's mysterious?" Jaune whispered. "I mean, he came out of nowhere! Don't you guys think that we should keep an eye on him or something?"

"No need Jaune."

"Huh?" Jaune turned to the source of the voice, in this case, Ruby.

"He's a nice person, so I trust him." Ruby brought a cookie to her mouth and nibbled on it, her eyes focusing elsewhere. "I can tell."

Yang grinned. "Well of course he's nice! The guy has been pampering you all day long!" she exclaimed, which made the little reaper blush madly.

"H-He treats me like a kid! It's no fair!" Ruby took a large bite out of her cookie in embarrassment, and despite having her mouth full, she said, "Even after knowing that I'm the team leader, he still treats me like a ten year old!"

"Come to think of it, I wonder what type of weapon he uses?" Pyrrha thought out loud.

Ruby immediately went silent, wide-eyed.

"From the way he looks, I would say a collapsible staff," Jaune said with a genuine smile.

"I bet it's a gun!" Nora exclaimed, which made Ren wince at her high level of volume.

"Could be a sword that has a gun attached to it. A type of weapon like that will certainly look good on him," Ren added before taking a small sip of his tea.

"Huh. What do you think, Ruby?" Yang turned to Ruby, curious.

The girl in question remained silent with her entire frame shaking due to pure excitement, only to yell out "I can't wait to ask him!" a while later.

Yang shook her head. "Figures."

"He probably has a crossbow! Or maybe a katana! Or better yet, a combination of a flamethrower and a scythe! Or maybe-"

Weiss cleared her throat. "Aren't we forgetting the part where he came out of nowhere?" she pointed out. "It is very unlikely of him to have a weapon, seeing how he is now. That being said, is he even capable in terms of combat?"

Ruby opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. She whined and planted her head on the table, as the look of utter dejection took over her face. "And I was really excited about it too..."

"He doesn't look like he could punch that well, let alone take one," Yang stated. She rested her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands, deep in thought. "Hm..."

"Maybe...he's good with kicks?" Pyrrha suggested.

"Could be, but I'm not all that sure myself," Blake shrugged in response to Pyrrha, only for her to return to her book later on. Her black bow twitched, however, when a familiar voice reached her ears.

"P-Please stop!"

Everyone at the table turned their attention towards the source of the voice, and what met their eyes was the unpleasant sight of Team CRDL bullying Velvet.

The rabbit faunus could do nothing as the leader of the team, Cardin Winchester, pulled at one of her rabbit ears. "O-Ow!" she yelped.

"What a freak! Go dig yourself a hole!" Cardin sneered.

Each and every one of the individuals at the table had unpleasant looks on their faces, but Blake was by far the most irritated. She gritted her teeth in anger and balled her hands into fists. Just by looking at Team CRDL made her feel sick, but all she could do now was watch, and hope for the best.

Even after that certain incident which involved Jaune saving Cardin's ass from an Ursa, the tall asshole hadn't changed his ways one bit. But oddly enough, he always made sure to avoid himself from bumping into the blond knight for obvious reasons.

"I will seriously break their legs if they won't stop," Nora growled angrily, cracking her knuckles soon after.

Ren immediately placed a hand on Nora's shoulder. "Bad idea, Nora. Doing it here in public will make things a lot more worst."

"Um...guys, you might want to see this," Jaune said, as he watched a certain green-haired vessel making his way towards Team CRDL.

"W-Whoa! That guy got a death wish or something?" Yang thought out loud.

"W-What?" was the only thing Blake was able to come up with at the sight of Kval, wide-eyed.

Then, like a switch being flipped, the students around started whispering to one another.

"Shit...that weird kid sure has a death wish."

"This is gonna get ugly. I hope he won't end up getting his bones broken."

"Well, it's his choice. So why bother stopping him?"

"Should I go and call Professor Goodwitch before this gets any worse?"

"Ain't that the guy who came out of that light?"

"This guy clearly doesn't know who he's dealing with."

"Poor kid got guts, but I'm sure Cardin will kick his ass in no time."

Right now, all they could do was watch.

And hope for the best.

 **-IIXII-**

"I can't believe all that's left were these..." Kval moved his gaze down to the bowl in his hands, and inside it was a handful of boiled eggs, but he doubted that they were enough to satisfy his hunger. Call him a glutton, but he really enjoyed eating boiled eggs. Hell, Terumi would probably go ape-shit crazy if he were in his shoes right now.

A small sigh escaped his lips, and the stares presented to him by the students around made him feel all the more worse. "Seriously, why are they still staring at me?" mumbled Kval. "I'd prefer more on getting hit by Nine's fire spells rather than this..."

He lowered his head and kept walking to where his friends' table was at, not wanting to meet the eyes of the other students.

But just as he did, something happened.

"It hurts! Please!" a feminine voice cried out in pain.

Kval lifted up his head in an instant, wide-eyed.

And what he saw made a frown appear on his face.

Some guys were bullying a girl with rabbit ears. From what he could gather, there were four of them in total. The tallest one, who seemed to be taking sick joy in pulling at one of the poor girl's ears, was clearly the leader, if his size was anything to go by.

"I should probably go and stop them," Kval decided.

And with that, the young vessel made his way to the unpleasant scene. He wouldn't want to cause a scene or anything, so he hoped that the guys would take kindly to his actions. It was his first day after all, and he'd do anything to avoid himself from getting into trouble.

However, no matter how he disliked the idea, Kval would be forced to act if it was necessary.

He just hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

The whispers around started reaching his ears, but Kval didn't care. The students weren't doing anything useful, so why bother giving them his attention?

After a short while of walking, Kval found himself standing behind the leader of the bullies.

Apparently they haven't noticed him yet, so he cleared his throat to change that.

 **-IIXII-**

Cardin turned his head around, and the first thing which entered his line of sight was Kval. The first thing he felt was confusion, before annoyance took its place. He released his grip around the ear of his victim, and nearly growled, "What do you want?"

The rabbit faunus wasted no time in mending her ear when it was finally released. She then later found her eyes wandering over to the newcomer out of curiosity, and was quite surprised to see that the person was someone who she was unfamiliar with.

"I don't think you should do that to her. It's not nice," Kval said with a nervous smile.

"What did you say?" Cardin crossed his arms. "You got a problem with me, buddy?"

The young vessel simply chose to remain silent.

That's when something clicked in Cardin's mind.

"Wait...aren't you the guy who fell out of that light?" he asked.

"Y-Yes, I'm him," Kval answered. He was confused when Cardin started laughing.

"Looks like we got ourselves another freak!"

Upon hearing that one particular word, Kval's right eye twitched ever so slightly.

"I don't really like...being called a freak."

Cardin glared at Kval. "Don't you dare talk back to me, you freak. Unless you want to end up in the infirmary. And what's with your hair?" He tried to grab a fistful of the vessel's hair, only to receive a weak punch to the face from said vessel before he was even able to do so.

It wasn't much, but it was still painful.

That being said, the students who were watching the whole thing were stunned beyond measure. No one had ever done that to Cardin before, let alone in public, so seeing Kval do such a thing like it was nobody's business was the last thing they expected to see.

"You...stupid freak! Get him!" Cardin roared in pure rage.

Kval sighed. "Well...no more punching for me."

Sky, one of the three, attempted to punch Kval in the face, but the vessel sidestepped the attack with ease and pushed him forcefully to the cold floor. Next came Dove. He tried to kick Kval in the gut, but rather than evade the attack, he grabbed his leg with a hand and pushed it to the side, causing him to lose his balance and later fall to the floor.

And he did all this while carrying a bowl of boiled eggs.

Russel glared daggers at Kval. "You damn freak!" He charged forward, only to find himself stopping later on as the look of pure terror took over his features. Heck, some could even see his legs trembling. The reason to his sudden changes in behavior was unknown, however.

Kval remained silent in his current spot, and later tilted his head to one side, as if giving Russel a silent message.

"W-What?" was the only word which left Russel's lips, before he decided to run out of the dining hall's exit out of pure terror, if the paleness of his face and the look in his eyes was anything to go by.

Then, like a switch being flipped, the air grew silent.

Judging by the looks on everyone's faces, it was quite clear that they were confused, but no one could blame them for feeling that way. Hell, what they'd just witnessed would leave _anyone_ feeling that way.

All Kval did was look at his direction, but that alone was enough to make Russel flee for his life as if he saw a ghost. And to top it all off, he evaded Dove and Sky's attacks _while carrying his lunch_.

This was his first day in Beacon, and already he started achieving things which no other student had ever thought of achieving. Thinking about it now, he deserved a medal.

"W-What...just happened?" a student nearby whispered to one of his friends, but his question was unfortunately left unanswered.

Dove and Sky stared at the entrance of the dining hall where Russel just ran off to, and later exchanged worried glances towards one another. The two then pushed themselves off the floor and turned to Kval, cautious.

Ignoring the two bullies, Kval casually made his way over to the girl with rabbit ears. He offered her a kind smile, and asked, "Are you okay?"

The shy girl nodded a bit timidly and returned the vessel's smile with her own. "I'm fine. T-Thank you for helping me," she said.

"Listen here you freak!"

Kval turned himself around in order to face Cardin, and nearly scoffed at the sight of him cracking his knuckles. If he thought that simple act was enough to make him look all intimidating, then he's better off being a clown.

"I don't know what you did back there, but I'm going to make you pay," Cardin growled. He brought his fist back and charged his way towards Kval with reckless abandon.

Too bad the asshole suddenly stopped himself.

"What the...h-hell?"

Cardin's face was filled with terror and fear, a lot similar to how Russel looked like mere moments ago. And before anyone was able to comment about his sudden changes in behavior, he ran off.

Dove and Sky looked to each other and nodded. With that, they chased after Cardin, ultimately leaving the dining hall later on.

When the two remaining bullies left, the place grew silent once more.

If only for a few seconds.

The girl with rabbit ears peeked her head over Kval's right shoulder, and asked, "What...did you do?"

Kval remained silent. Two seconds later, however, he quickly turned around as a sheepish smile took its place across his face. "Uh...w-well, I didn't really do anything. Haha..." He scratched the back of his neck, but was slightly caught off-guard when a pair of arms came in and wrapped themselves around him. "E-Eh...?" He looked down, and only then did he realise that he was being hugged by the girl with rabbit ears.

"A-Again, thank you for helping me," she said.

"A-Ah..." Kval couldn't help the urge to blush at the current situation he was in, and it was no helping that the girl was pressing her body against his own. Sweet seithr, was she even aware of what she was doing? "I-It's nothing. My name is Kazuma Kval, by the way. It's a real pleasure to meet you."

"O-Oh!" The girl immediately pulled herself away from Kval. She took a few steps back, ignoring the fact that her cheeks had turned rosy at some point, and spoke. "Right. I haven't told you my name yet." A small smile found its way up to her face. "It's Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina. It's nice to meet you too."

Before Kval could say anything else in return, a pair of hands landed on his shoulders, startling him. He swiftly turned around, and was relieved to see that it was just Ruby.

However, the serious look which was displayed across her face told him that something was afoot.

"We need to talk. Now."

 **-IIXII-**

 **Well, that's the end of Phase 4...and it's like 4000 plus words! By the gods!**

 **I know that some of you were expecting Kval to have a one-sided battle against Team CRDL, but I had to push that idea aside. Come on, first day in Beacon and he's already picking fights? No can do, lovely readers.**

 **And what did Kval do?**

 **Well, the answer to that is simple, but I'll save that for Phase 5.**

 **I seriously thought that I wouldn't get this far, but you guys helped me a lot...so thanks. I just hope Phase 4 was okay. I'm paranoid as ever.**

 **Anyway, I'll see you guys later in Phase 5.**

 **Over and out!**


	5. Phase 5

**Welcome to Phase 5 of Still Alive!**

 **I must say, you guys have helped me quite a lot with this story. Thank you for your support, SpecialMonitor22 and rabeck. And as thanks to you other readers, I decided to release Phase 5 today!**

 **I'll probably take a few days off after this. I need my rest. Also, I deeply apologise if Phase 5 seems a bit short.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

After what felt like hours, the members of Team RWBY, Kval included, finally found themselves back in their rightful room. Not only them, but Team JNPR had tagged along as well, along with Velvet.

Kval, who was seated near one of the desks in the room, tilted his head to one side. The very same bowl from the dining hall rested in his hands, and inside revealed the very few boiled eggs which he was able to salvage, by luck alone at that. Perhaps after all this was done, he'll take his time eating them one by one.

Ruby eyed the green-haired vessel with what other people would call a serious expression, looking as if she was expecting something. The others followed her example, other than Velvet, who seemed to be avoiding her eyes from meeting Kval for some odd reason.

Silence found itself nestled deep inside the room, and no matter how hard he tried, Kval can't deny the fact that he was growing more and more uncomfortable by the second.

Upon realising that this was the most uncomfortable thing to have ever happen in his entire twisted life, Kval finally found the courage to speak his mind by stuttering out, "U-Um...is something the matter?"

"I want to know what happened back there," Ruby replied in an instant, and her expression soon changed to one of worry. She was the leader of her very own team, so it was her responsibility to make sure that her teammates were feeling well. Whatever he did back there, she needed to know.

Kval raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "You mean...earlier?"

Jaune scratched his head. "Y-Yeah dude. I mean, you scared the living daylights out of the guys just by staring. We want to know what actually went down, and also if you're feeling alright."

"Oh." Kval chuckled, which confused the others a bit.

"W-What?" Weiss sounded. She folded her arms, but the look on her face told everyone that she was feeling quite nervous. After witnessing the events which had transpired in the dining hall just moments before, who wouldn't be nervous?

"If you guys really want to know, then all I did was glare," Kval said.

Everyone went silent, and it was rather unsettling the way how they all stared at him. They looked as if they were rebooting their brains or something.

Kval scratched his cheek when the silence, as well as the stares, started to bother him. "W-Why are you all looking at me like that?" he asked.

"H-How did you do it!?" Jaune exclaimed, wide-eyed. Hell, he looked like some sort of madman.

"E-Eh?" was all Kval said in return, no doubt confused. "Do what?"

"Dude, everyone in class glared at Cardin once, and he didn't even flinch! The entire class I tell you!" Taking hold of his shoulders, Jaune then started to shake Kval back and forth like a doll, unintentionally causing the vessel to feel dizzy.

"W-Who is...Cardin?" Kval asked, despite all the shaking Jaune was putting him through.

Jaune released Kval's shoulders. "The big guy who was pulling at one of Velvet's ears!" he exclaimed and gestured to Velvet. "He's the leader of Team CRDL. They're a bunch of bullies. Nasty people."

"O-Oh. Well, I can show you how I did that later. Right now, I have to finish the deal that I made with Team RWBY." Kval rose up from his chair, smiling as he did so.

"Y-Yeah, about that, rookie. We've been thinking actually..." Yang trailed off.

"What is it?" Kval asked. Ever so slowly, he picked an egg from his bowl and brought it up to his mouth. Like usual, he started nibbling the top, and the sight of him doing so was rather...cute, in a way, but no one dared to say it out loud.

"M-Maybe we should call the deal off. We don't really want to make you feel uncomfortable...and all," Yang mumbled, especially that last part.

"I think it's better to deal with this now than never." Kval let out a light laugh. "Besides, I don't mind if it's you guys. I may not show it, but I find you all to be a group of trustworthy people. I can tell," he said, and he meant each and every word.

"You...trust us that much?" Ruby asked, taken aback, in which Kval nodded.

"I mean, why would I not?" replied the vessel.

"So...you're going to show us your eyes?" Jaune sounded.

Kval nodded once more. "Yes. J-Just...don't freak out, or anything," he said, sounding nervous. Nearly everyone nodded at his request, and he smiled as thanks. Placing the half-eaten boiled egg back into its rightful bowl, Kval slowly brought a hand up to his face. He touched his bangs, and proceeded to move them aside, revealing his eyes.

Which were closed.

Ruby covered her mouth, and her eyes widened in realisation. "You're...blind?"

Kval couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not blind, Ruby. My eyes are just closed," he said.

"H-Huh?" Ruby's cheeks turned rosy ever so slightly, and she immediately moved her eyes down onto the floor, no doubt embarrassed. "S-Sorry..." she mumbled.

"It's alright." Kval opened his eyes, and as if on cue, everyone took a step back, surprised no doubt. However, out of all of them, Ruby was the only one who managed to stand her ground, her face filled with nothing but awe. He allowed his serpentine eyes to roam over the faces of his friends, and just by looking he could tell that they were trying hard to find the right words to express what they were feeling after the reveal of his eyes.

"Whoa..." was the only word Yang could think of saying, and she nearly slapped herself for not able to come up with something that's more...creative. A pun would've been great, but her mind was too busy processing the sight of Kval's eyes, so the task of creating one was nearly impossible for her to do so.

"W-What...are you?" Blake asked, her voice a lot more quieter than usual.

"I...can't answer that question. At least not yet," Kval said, smiling apologetically as he did so. Suddenly, his eyes turned to slits, and his friends wasted no time in looking away from his stare.

Ruby, on the other hand, kept her eyes glued onto the vessel's, awestruck. "You're eyes kinda look cool," she commented, and that unintentionally caused Kval to move his eyes over to her. "Eep!" she squeaked. Cool or not, having those pair of eyes focused on her would most definitely make her feel uneasy. It's no wonder why Cardin and Russel ran away with their tails between their legs.

"S-Sorry about that, Ruby. This is the reason why I keep my hair like this. It's to keep my eyes hidden," Kval explained. He closed his eyes. "My eyes tend to scare people away, and some would often end up calling me a freak. I guess you could say that it's...annoying, as well as frustrating at times."

"You're not a freak..." Blake said with concern written across her face. She then closed her eyes, as if coming to a decision. "Well, since you just showed us your secret, I think it would be fair if I were to show you mine." She brought her hands to the top of her head, her black bow in particular, but just when she was about to reveal her biggest secret, Kval held up a hand, motioning for her to stop, much to her confusion.

"Cat ears, right? I know." Kval smiled, and it only grew wider when the look of utter shock took its place on Blake's face.

"H-How did you know!?" Blake exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"W-Well, your bow has a habit of twitching from time to time. Also, your eyes are...well...yeah..." was Kval's reply.

Blake blushed, and later nodded. "F-Fair enough."

"Snakey!" Nora suddenly exclaimed. She lunged forward and gave Kval a bone-crushing hug, catching him by surprise.

"E-Eh!?" Kval looked to the Valkyrie girl from the corner of his eyes. He'd just recently gotten used to Yang's headlocks, and he was thankful for that, but it was absolutely _nothing_ compared to Nora's bone-crushing hugs. In all seriousness, just what in the world were these girls made of?

"I always thought that snakes were cool! And your eyes look cool! But I like sloths more than snakes so-"

"Nora!" Ren called out. "What did I tell you about hugging others without their permission?"

Nora rolled her eyes, but she made no move to release Kval from her tight hold, despite what Ren just said. "Ha. Very funny. Just because my hugs are capable of breaking a few bones doesn't necessarily mean that I'd do it on purpose." She huffed. "What do you take me for?"

"Relax, Ren. I don't mind one bit." Kval laughed. "That being said, I'm just glad that you guys don't think of me as a freak. Thank you."

Jaune chuckled. "No problem."

Pyrrha bit on her lower lip, looking as if something was troubling her mind. Slowly, she turned to Kval, and later found herself rubbing her arm as she called out, "Kazuma, I would like to apologise for earlier. I...hope that you would find it in yourself to forgive me."

"Eh?" Kval raised an eyebrow, confused. "About what?"

"Me asking about your eyes," Pyrrha explained, and her eyes revealed nothing but guilt. "I'm sorry."

Kval shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Pyrrha. I'm the one who should apologise, actually. I was just...scared, is all." He let out a sheepish laugh at that. "I shouldn't have acted that way."

"I-I see," was Pyrrha's reply, smiling ever so slightly. "I guess we're both at fault here."

Kval chuckled. "If you put it that way, then yes."

"See? I knew he was scared!" Weiss exclaimed. She folded her arms and made a smug look with her face, and in a way, the sight looked silly. Not that she noticed.

"Pffft..." Ruby covered her mouth in order to contain her laughter, and immediately cleared her throat when Weiss turned to her with suspicion in her eyes. "Ahem. Something was in my throat..."

"So uh..." Jaune started, "...mind showing me how you scared Cardin now?"

Thanks to Jaune, every single person inside the room turned to a certain green-haired vessel, feeling curious as well.

"O-Oh! Give me a moment." Kval quickly made his way to his forgotten half-eaten boiled egg which was inside the bowl on the desk, and he wasted no time in devouring it. It was better to finish it off now than later. Besides, this was also a good way to take his friends by surprise, since what he was going to do was probably going to send chills running down their spines.

The others wanted to ask what he was up to, but each and every one of them went mute the moment Kval turned himself around.

The room was flooded with silence.

The temperature dropped.

Everyone grew tense.

And no one dared to say a word.

Simply because all of them were scared shitless to do so.

Hell, Professor Goodwitch's sharp glare was nothing compared to this. Not even close. Hers was stern, and only stern. Sure it was frightening, but unlike Kval, it wasn't _deadly_.

What they were looking at right now was a glare filled with hatred and murderous intent. In fact, they could even say that it was fear itself and everyone would agree!

"Y-You can stop now..." Jaune squeaked out. He was currently pressing his back against the corner of the room with Pyrrha at his side, who seemed to be holding onto his arm rather tightly.

Their reactions were priceless.

Blake was already on Yang's bed the moment Kval's glare was revealed, no doubt frightened if the look in her eyes was anything to go by.

Weiss and Ruby held one another as if their lives depended on it, and their legs shook so much that they were probably going to fail their owners in the next few seconds.

Yang remained stationed in her spot, but the extreme paleness of her face obviously meant that she, like the others, was scared shitless as well. It was no help at all that she kept her eyes locked onto Kval. Heck, she was probably unaware of the fact that Velvet was hiding herself right behind her, who was trembling in fear and nothing else.

Shockingly, even Nora was scared. Similar to Velvet, she chose to hide herself behind Ren. Unlike others, however, she had the courage to peek her head over his shoulder every now and again.

Lastly, Ren looked like he was prepared to fight a losing battle against an army of Grimm. Sure he didn't reveal too much of what he was feeling, but all the sweating indicated that he at least knew what he was looking at. It's either Mister Fear, or Mister Death. If possible, both.

"Kazuma, y-y-you can stop now. P-Please?" Velvet squeaked out. She peeked her head over Yang's shoulder, and was relieved to see the vessel no longer glaring at her, or anyone else for that matter.

Kval scratched the back of his head and allowed his bangs to hide his eyes once more. "I apologise if I scared you guys," he said. Traumatizing his friends any further was the last thing he needed.

"I...I don't know if I should feel bad for Cardin," Jaune said, still not moving away from his spot in the corner.

Pyrrha blushed brightly upon realising that she was _still_ holding onto Jaune's arm. She quickly pulled her hands away and stepped back, looking at anywhere but the blond knight.

No one knew it, but she was silently thanking Kval for what he did.

"T-That...was one hell of a glare," Yang commented. She blinked once, and soon her face started regaining back all of its colors.

Ren nodded, agreeing with what Yang said. "Indeed. That glare was...something," he said.

"N-Never...give me that look...ever again," Weiss muttered.

"Kazuma, I'll n-never make you mad. Ever. I-I promise." Ruby nodded a few times, wide-eyed.

Kval sighed. "You guys do realise that you're all making me look like the villain here, right?"

"S-Sorry..." Ruby slowly pulled herself away from Weiss, smiling sheepishly. The fear was still there, however, if the shakiness of her legs was anything to go by.

"I'll never look at you the same way again. That's for sure," Weiss muttered.

Today, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company had just learned a valuable lesson.

Never mess with an angered Kval.

Or else.

"I-I was acting on instinct," Blake stuttered. She carefully climbed her way down the bunk bed, totally ignoring the fact that her cheeks had grown quite red due to embarrassment. "I'm sorry that you had to see me like that."

Kval laughed. "Blake, there is no need to apologise."

Blake looked away in order to hide her blush. Too bad it was a futile attempt at best. "Noted," she muttered.

Ruby eyed Kval for a couple of seconds, and later found herself asking, "Hey Kazuma. Since you'll be staying with us, where will you sleep?"

Kval froze.

Why in the hell hadn't he thought of that?

Oh well.

"I'll take the floor."

The entire room was filled with silence.

Then, all of a sudden, Ruby cleared her throat. She locked eyes with Yang, and the blonde received the message in an instant.

"Looks like we'll just have to get another bed from Headmaster Ozpin then," Yang said with a shake of her head, shrugging soon after.

"I-It's okay. I can take the floor," Kval said, but oddly enough no one turned to look at him. It's as if they were ignoring him.

"W-We'll give Headmaster Ozpin the message," Jaune said. He, along with the rest of his team, walked over to the door and left.

"E-Eh? Guys seriously, I can take the floor," Kval said, but he was unfortunately ignored yet again.

"Okay Yang, we need to move this bookshelf aside in order to make room for his bed," Ruby ordered.

Yang nodded. "Got it."

"U-Um...guys?" Kval called out.

"D-Don't worry Kazuma, we'll get you that bed as soon as possible," Blake said, appearing right beside him. "For now, just relax and enjoy your boiled eggs. We'll deal with everything." With no words left to say, she went to Yang and offered her a hand, in which the blonde gratefully accepted.

Kval stared at the three members of Team RWBY with a tilt of his head, confused beyond measure. Later, he found his eyes wandering over to a certain heiress, but before he had a chance to speak, said heiress took the chance and made her move.

"I-I'll make sure that Team JNPR doesn't forget anything important. You can just stay here." Weiss nodded a couple of times and walked over to the door.

Kval stared at Weiss as she left, his expression as blank as a whiteboard.

That's when a thought occurred to him.

"Do they...fear my glare so much to the point where they'd do anything to keep me from feeling upset?"

Yup. That had to be it.

"U-Um...Kazuma?"

Kval turned his head around, and he found himself smiling when Velvet came into view. At least she was acting normal.

"My teammates are probably worried about me, so I'll be going now." Velvet went forward and hugged Kval, before pulling away with her eyes downcast, no doubt embarrassed. "A-Again, thank you for helping me back there. I-It means quite a lot to me. Really," she said. "I'll see you later then."

And with that, the faunus left.

Kval stared at the door, and later closed his eyes as a small chuckle left his lips.

"You're welcome."

 **-IIXII-**

 **Well, Phase 5 is done. I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **Again, thank you for your support.** **I'll see you readers later in Phase 6.**

 **Peace!**


	6. Phase 6

**Welcome to Phase 6 of Still Alive!**

 **R-Remember when I said I was going to take a break from writing? Well, I couldn't exactly stay away from this story. But whatever! I hope you guys enjoy Phase 6!**

 **As always, thank you so much for your continued support!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue, you hear!?**

 **Well, enjoy!**

 **-IIXII-**

A day had gone by, and he was already starting to enjoy his time in Beacon Academy. His teammates were nice, he had a place to sleep, and also there was food, so what is there not to like?

Kval covered his mouth and released a tired yawn as he sat up in his bed.

Since he had no spare clothes, Kval had decided to just use his Mage's Guild uniform instead of anything else when sleeping, and the only thing missing was his black cape. The green-haired boy had folded it neatly and placed it on one of the desks last night, and with a quick peek he noticed that it was still there, untouched.

Kval averted his gaze away from his cape to the alarm clock that was placed on the very same desk, revealing the time to be somewhere around 7AM in the morning. It was a bit early, sure, but there was no point in going back to sleep now.

Getting off his bed and stretching his arms, Kval then headed his way over to the bathroom with a smile on his cheery face. Turning the door knob slowly, Kval opened the entrance to their bathroom and went inside, right before closing the door behind him.

The bathroom was nothing special, but it wasn't really an issue, to be honest. Besides, it wasn't dirty or anything, and a clean bathroom meant that he could take a nice shower, so it was good enough to him.

Wrapping the green towel that he had gotten from Weiss the other day around himself after taking off his clothes, Kval proceeded to set them down somewhere around the sink.

He turned on the hot water, and sighed as a small smile graced his lips.

Right now, Kval was officially taking his first shower in Beacon Academy.

"I haven't had a hot shower in ages," Kval chuckled to himself.

 **-IIXII-**

Ruby sat up in her bed and began rubbing her tired eyes, letting out a squeaky yawn with her free hand covering her mouth later on. Pushing the covers off of her, she then jumped down from her bunk bed. Ruby grabbed her towel and made her way towards the bathroom with closed eyes.

When she reached the door, Ruby turned to the alarm clock, staring at it through half-lidded eyes.

"This is a little too early for a Saturday morning…" the fifteen year old girl mumbled under her breath as she grabbed the door knob. She let out another yawn and turned the knob, not taking note of the sound of running water from the other side of the door.

Opening the door, Ruby immediately went wide-eyed when the sight of Kazuma Kval greeted her eyes.

Kval, who was wet from head to toe with his green towel wrapped around his waist, silently returned Ruby's stare with his own. And he was lucky that he was done showering. If Ruby had opened the door a few seconds early, then she would have surely seen him naked.

Kval mentally cursed himself for not locking the door earlier.

After a few seconds of more staring, Kval gave her a sheepish smile and finally gathered his courage to speak.

"Uh…Ruby…d-do you mind?"

With this, the girl's entire face burned red, and she shrieked.

This prompted their other three teammates to jolt awake in their beds.

"Ruby! What's wrong!?" Yang got up from her bed and ran up to Ruby, but then took note of the green-haired vessel who was standing in the bathroom. Her lilac eyes turned red as she glared at him. "You pervert!" the blonde yelled out in anger. She stormed her way towards Kval with her hands balled up into fists. "I'll beat the living heck out of you!"

"E-Eh!?" Kval looked to Yang in utter shock, taking a few steps back in fear. "H-How is this my fault!?"

Fortunately for him, Ruby came to his rescue. The young girl quickly came in and stood in the blonde's path with her hands held in front of her, eyes closed. "Yang w-wait! It was my fault!" she yelled out, successfully stopping the blonde in her tracks.

Yang landed her gaze on her little sister without so much of a word, and waited for an explanation.

"I opened the door without knowing he was inside so…it was my fault."

Upon hearing her little sister's explanation, Yang's crimson eyes finally turned back to their original lilac color. She then eyed the boy in the bathroom, but then moved her gaze elsewhere, scratching the back of her head as she did.

"Oh. Well, my bad. J-Just go and get yourself changed already."

Kval let out a sigh of relief. He closed the door, and this time he made sure it was locked.

"I guess he could be a little forgetful at times too," Weiss said as she got up from her bed, stretching her arms not too long after that. "Well, there's no point in sleeping now."

Blake massaged her forehead with a tired groan. "Guys…what time is it?" she asked.

The heiress scoffed then simply answered, "It's nearly eight, so stop your whining and get up already."

Blake didn't have the energy to give Weiss a sharp glare, so instead she stood up and yawned lightly. Besides, arguing with Weiss early in the morning was the last thing she needed.

Suddenly, Yang decided to catch her little sister in a headlock, grinning mischievously as she did so. "Quite a scene you saw earlier, my dear sister!" she teased, which effectively made the little reaper blush like there's no tomorrow.

"I-It was an accident! I swear!" Ruby attempted to free herself, but whined when she failed to do so. "A-And weren't you mad just a second ago!?" she asked, looking to the blonde brawler from the corner of her eyes.

"Well, just like you told me, it was an accident." Yang released her younger sibling and folded her arms. "So I'm fine with it."

Weiss simply rolled her eyes as she watched the two sisters. Blake, on the other hand, had already decided to read one of her books to pass the time, but judging by the look on her face, it was clear that she was still out of it.

"Anyway, who's going to accompany Kazuma?" Yang asked with a grin, earning quizzical looks from her teammates. She sighed. "He was planning on buying his clothes today, remember?" the girl reminded them, though, her eyes immediately landed on the heiress before anyone had a chance to say anything. "Okay Ice Queen, you're going with him."

"And why should I listen to you?"

"Because I got plans for today, and you're the one with the cash," Yang stated with a satisfied smile. The other two girls nodded in agreement.

"Fine." Weiss groaned with a roll of her eyes.

"As the leader, I'll follow too!" Ruby chimed in with a bright smile. "I wanna see how he looks like in casual clothes!"

As if on cue, Kval nervously peeked his head out the bathroom door. "I'm done. Anyone want to use the bathroom?"

Not wasting a single second, Ruby quickly zipped her way inside the bathroom, leaving a trail of falling rose petals behind her. "Me!" she exclaimed with a smile and later pushed Kval outside, closing the door not too long after that.

"Uh…w-was she always this fast?" Kval asked the others somewhat nervously.

"It's her Semblance," Blake explained to him, but then narrowed her eyes. "You do know what a Semblance is, right?"

Kval smiled a sheepish smile and scratched his cheek, which ultimately earned himself a sigh from Blake.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Alright!" Yang exclaimed as she gave Kval a headlock, surprising him. She grinned. "After Ruby and Weiss are done getting dressed, they'll head to Vale to find you some clothes to wear. You're following though."

Kval widened his eyes in response. "I…totally forgot about that," he admitted.

After begging the blonde to release him for who knows how long, Yang finally decided to give him a bit of mercy by letting him go. However, by the time he was released, Ruby was already dressed in her usual combat outfit.

Now all he needed to do was wait for Weiss.

He chuckled when the sight of Yang pestering Blake came into view.

From what he could tell, Yang was having the time of her life, and Blake was currently suffering, because it was clear to him that she wanted to continue reading her book in peace. He felt pretty bad for the girl. But how those two get along so well, he would never know.

Before his thoughts could get any further, Kval suddenly felt someone tugging at his sleeve.

"Hm?"

Upon seeing that it was Ruby, he smiled. Though, taking a closer look, the girl seemed to fidget with her gaze on the floor.

"H-Hey, I wanted to apologise for earlier…a-and for my sister."

Kval shook his head, and began ruffling the girl's hair like how he would do to a child. "I'm not mad, so don't worry about it." Ruby seemed to blush at this, so he stopped what he was doing and gave a nervous laugh. "Y-You're my leader. Got it."

Ruby only gave him a pout in response, which was rather adorable in his case.

"I'm done."

Weiss' voice caught their attention.

"Sorry if I was taking too long." Weiss sighed, currently drying her hair with her towel. She then looked to herself in the mirror, and smiled. "Perfect."

"Great. Now go find a Bullhead and buy him those clothes," Yang told her while grinning.

"Please don't remind me." The heiress groaned, shaking her head sideways moments later.

 **-IIXII-**

Walking to the pier was not easy to say the least, and that was because people were still staring at him. Though lucky for him, he was already starting to get used to it. Sort of.

"I'm sorry that you have to pay for my clothes, Weiss. Though, I'm really grateful."

To be honest, Weiss wasn't really expecting to hear something like that from Kval. She wasn't used to getting thanked by people after all.

Not knowing how to respond to his words, Weiss simply decided to look to the side, mumbling, "It's fine."

"So Kazuma, how do you like your new bed so far?" Ruby asked while at the same time munching down on her chocolate chip cookie, gazing at him from the corner of her eyes.

Kval gave a nervous chuckle, before responding with, "I could have just taken the floor."

"Nonsense!" Ruby yelled out. She jumped, all so that she was able to give the taller boy a swift chop on the head.

Weiss went wide-eyed at her partner's action.

"H-Hey!" Kval cried out.

Ruby eyed Kval for a brief moment, right before folding her arms with a serious look in her silver eyes. "You should be grateful. No member on my team shall be allowed to sleep on the floor!"

"S-Sorry. I just didn't want to be a burden to you guys," Kval admitted. He was surprised, however, when Ruby suddenly gave him a pat on the back. "Eh?"

"Don't worry Kazuma. I'm a burden to Weiss all the time!" exclaimed Ruby, which prompted the heiress to clenched her hands in anger.

"Hey!"

Seeing that she had just angered her partner, Ruby immediately hid herself behind Kval, peeking her head over his shoulder. "Hehe…sorry Weiss."

After a few more minutes of small chatter and walking, the three finally reached the pier. Now, all they needed to do was wait for the next Bullhead to arrive and pick them up.

"So these…Bullheads, we're going to ride them?" Kval asked with a tilt of his head.

"Well, technically we're the passengers. The Bullheads have their own pilots," Ruby explained before taking a large bite out of her cookie.

"I see. Do we need to pay them or anything?"

Weiss shook her head sideways and answered, "Of course not. If the students didn't have any lien then how will they be able to leave?"

Kval nodded at her explanation. It made sense.

"Hey guys! The Bullhead is here!" Ruby called out.

True to her words, the Bullhead was in the middle of descending itself from the sky, as the hatch slowly opened when it was near enough.

The three made their way inside and took their positions.

"Where to?" one of the pilots asked.

Ruby smiled. "The city of Vale please!"

The pilot gave her a nod in confirmation before turning his head back to the controls.

"So I'm guessing this is your first time riding a Bullhead?" Weiss asked Kval, in which he nodded in a nervous manner.

"Don't worry, we'll arrive in Vale in no time!" Ruby assured Kval with a smile.

The trip to Vale was rather short, simply because they were able to easily pass the time by having conversations with one another. When the Bullhead landed, the hatch slowly opened up, and one of the pilots gave the three passengers a smile and a thumbs up.

"Thanks guys!" Ruby said as she jumped out of the Bullhead with her other two teammates.

Scanning his surroundings, Kval took notice of the tall buildings, and not to mention all the people walking around. He grew nervous quite fast. "S-Since I'm not really familiar with this place, you two should take the lead," Kval suggested.

"Okay, lead the way Weiss!" Ruby ordered as she pointed at the heiress.

Said heiress narrowed her eyes at the girl and asked, "And why should I do that?"

Ruby scratched the back of her head in response. "Hehe…y-you're the one with the cash so…" she said in a sheepish manner.

The heiress said nothing as she massaged her forehead, letting out a sigh as she did. "Fine. Follow me and don't fall behind," Weiss instructed as she started walking.

Ruby and Kval exchanged bright smiles, and later followed the heiress.

Finding a clothing store was not really that hard to begin with, since there were stores literally everywhere. Weiss chose a random one and immediately went inside, who was followed closely by Kval and Ruby.

After giving Kval and Ruby a few seconds to scan their surroundings, Weiss cleared her throat to get their attention. "Okay, Ruby! You and I will search for those clothes, and make sure you don't break anything while you're at it." Ruby nodded in agreement at that. Weiss then shifted her gaze to Kval. "And _you_. Find a place to sit while we do all the work."

Kval let out a nervous chuckle. With literally nothing else to do, he sat down on one of the stools inside the store. "I can never understand girls," Kval said to himself, eyeing his two teammates who were picking clothes of various colors in the near distance.

"Green will definitely look good on him!" Weiss proclaimed somewhat confidently, but she was miffed upon seeing Ruby shaking her head in disagreement.

"I disagree, but I bet this black one will look better!" exclaimed the reaper, showing her partner a plain black shirt. "Let's ask him to try it on."

"Trust me, Ruby. You have no sense of taste when it comes to clothing," Weiss huffed, all the while examining the very same green shirt she had in her hands from before.

"W-What is that supposed to mean!?" Ruby yelled, offended no doubt.

"It doesn't go too well with his hair, Ruby," Weiss explained. "Just let me handle this."

Ruby puffed out her cheeks and folded her arms. "Well…I say green doesn't suit him that much either!"

Upon hearing those words from her partner, Weiss' left eye started twitching. "And what makes you so sure of that!?" the heiress snapped, receiving a smirk from the other girl.

"Well, that green shirt your holding doesn't go too well with his hair either."

Weiss sighed. "Well then, how about this red one?" Weiss grabbed a red shirt with short sleeves and showed it to her partner.

"Hey! I'm the one in red here!" Ruby reminded. She then grabbed a plain white shirt and held it up high, exclaiming, "This one will do!"

Weiss gave Ruby a sharp glare and smacked her head. "Put that down you dunce!"

Rubbing her head in pain, Ruby immediately gave her partner a glare of her own. "Never!"

And so, all hell broke loose.

"H-Hey, you two over there!"

The store owner was about to step in, but he stopped himself when someone came in and placed a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head around, the man's eyes were then greeted with the sight of a smiling Kazuma Kval.

"I'll go and handle them. Sorry for the inconvenience." Kval bowed politely, and the sight made the store owner sheepish for some reason.

"Y-You don't need to go that far, kid. Anyway, make sure those two don't damage anything in my store." And with that, the store owner walked away.

Kval sighed in relief, before eyeing the two girls.

"I should probably go and stop them," Kval said to himself as Weiss somehow got her head tangled up in a white shirt, while Ruby had both of her hands tied up in the red one from earlier. From the looks of things, the girl was trying to free herself by biting the piece of fabric.

Kval shook his head at their antics. He then made his way towards the two girls with a small smile on his face. "Hey, could you two please stop fighting?"

Weiss tried pulling off the white shirt from her head, but to no avail. That's when her muffled voice came out.

"She started it!"

Ruby glared at the heiress. "You're the one who has bad tastes in clothing!"

Kval stood behind Weiss and plucked the shirt off her head rather easily. "If you two keep this up, then we might end up getting ourselves into trouble," he scolded, which made the two girls look away from him in shame.

"I suppose…I was being rather childish," Weiss shamefully admitted.

"And Ruby?" Kval turned his attention towards the young red reaper.

The girl in question kept her gaze down at her feet, not wanting to look at him. "I…I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Kval smiled at the two girls, before nodding. "Good. Now come here, Ruby," he called out in a soft manner. "Let me help you with that."

"O-Okay."

Ruby slowly made her way towards Kval with her tied up hands held up in front of her. Kval, being himself, couldn't help the urge to chuckle upon witnessing the sight, and he immediately began to work on it.

And that was when Ruby came to realise that her personal space was being invaded by Kval.

"U-Um…Kazuma?" she called out, her cheeks slowly turning red.

"S-Sorry, but I think this will take a while," Kval said to her, as he was oblivious to how the girl was currently feeling. "Okay…done!" he exclaimed after a short while, with the red shirt now in his hands.

"T-Thanks…" Ruby thanked him somewhat shyly, her gaze not meeting his.

"Now, mind telling me why you two were arguing in the first place?" Kval asked, and he immediately regretted it when the two began to glare at one another.

"The dunce kept saying white looks good on you! She clearly has no taste in clothing!" the heiress shouted as she pointed at Ruby.

"Well at least it's better than the red one you suggested earlier!" Ruby retorted.

Kval's expression was nothing but stoic in that exact moment. With a sigh, he gave them each a swift chop on the head.

"Ow!" Weiss rubbed her head and gave Kval her icy glare. "What was that for!?"

"H-Hey!" Ruby puffed her cheeks out and did the same, which was rather cute instead of terrifying.

"Both the colors doesn't suit me well," Kval simply stated, which made the duo stare at him in utter disbelief. "Now, how about you two go and sit somewhere while I pick my own clothes?" Kval chuckled and left.

The two partners simply stood there in complete silence.

"Now, let's see…"

Kval raised one of his eyebrows when a black long-sleeved hooded sweater caught his attention.

Upon taking a closer look, it revealed that the cuffs were light green in color, along with the sweater's zipper. The sweater itself was a full set, as it came along with matching black pants.

Realising that the sweater was cheap and it looked comfortable, Kval wasted no time in grabbing it before showing the sweater to his teammates.

"Green…" Weiss murmured, not tearing her eyes away from the sweater.

"Black…" Ruby murmured as well, also keeping her gaze on the sweater Kval was currently holding.

Kval chuckled upon witnessing their reactions. "Anyway, I think I'll take this white shirt as well." He showed them the white shirt from earlier, grinning as he did so.

Ruby couldn't help but smirk at Weiss, much to the older girl's annoyance.

"Just bring them to the register and I'll pay for them." Weiss sighed and rubbed her forehead, clearly having a minor headache.

"O-Okay. And again, I'm sorry for having you to pay my clothes for me," Kval apologised with a sheepish smile, right as he went to the register.

Weiss stared at his back for a moment, but then a small smile settled itself across her features.

"I told you white looks good on him!" Ruby exclaimed with her head held high. "I'm right."

"Ugh. You are so childish!"

 **-IIXII-**

 **And that's a wrap! I sure hope you readers enjoyed it!**

 **Anyway, there'll be a little time skip in Phase 7.** **That's right. It's what you've all been waiting for!**

 **Kval is finally attending classes!**

 **Everyone knows what happens when Kval attends combat class, right?**

 **So yeah, I'll see you awesome readers later in Phase 7! Peace out!**


	7. Phase 7

**Welcome to Phase 7 of Still Alive!**

 **I see that you guys have taken a liking to my little story, and for that, I say thank you. Also, this story has reached up to 1000 plus views!**

 **As thanks to you readers for being awesome, Phase 7 is around 5000 plus words. I hope you guys will enjoy it! And like I have stated in the previous Phase, Phase 7 will have a bit of a time skip. So yay! Classes for Kval!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

He felt so bored.

He wanted to sleep so badly.

Was this how it felt like to listen to an old man's tale?

He really wanted to get hit by Nine's fire spells rather than doing this.

They were supposed to be learning about the creatures of Grimm, which was something that was entirely new to him. And he was eager to learn about them too. But here he was, listening to Professor Port's tale about a young handsome man with his grandfather who smelled like cabbage.

Taking a moment to scan his surroundings, Kval noticed that most of the students in class were either sleeping, or were actually making an effort to stay awake. In his opinion, this was just a waste of his time, but he had no other choice but to listen.

Boring as it may be, this was still class.

And unfortunately for him, he did _not_ feel like sleeping. So he had to suffer until the end of this torturous class.

Kval jumped a bit when someone came poking at his arm, and soon realised that it was his leader.

"Psst! Hey! Are you asleep?" Ruby whispered, only to see Kval shaking his head in response. "Oh. It's hard to tell with your hair covering your eyes. Hehe…" She scratched her head in pure embarrassment.

Stopping his tale to check his watch, Professor Port sighed and made his way over to the small metal cage that was placed in front of the class.

"Now, since we have a bit of spare time, would anyone like to test their skills by challenging Edgar? Anyone?"

Kval perked up upon hearing the sudden question. He began eyeing the metal cage suspiciously. The cage was already there when he first arrived in class, so he assumed that the things inside were unimportant.

Was the thing inside the metal cage what he thought it was?

Professor Port eyed his students, but then landed his gaze on the new kid, who was also known as Kazuma Kval. "Ah ha! The new student!"

Kval went wide-eyed. He pointed at himself for confirmation, in which the professor nodded.

Just what the hell did he got himself into?

"Why yes! Now gear up and prepare yourself, because Edgar is being a lot more aggressive than usual today."

Well, now that just answered his question.

Team RWBY and Team JNPR gave him worried looks, minus Nora who gave him a thumbs up instead. The other students, on the other hand, began to whisper to one another, as they were curious to see his fighting style.

Kval made his way to the front of the class and smiled at his friends to ensure them that he was going to be fine. He then narrowed his eyes at the metal cage.

The professor cleared his throat to get his attention, and said, "Ready your weapon!"

Ruby whipped her head towards Kval, her face filled with nothing but excitement. It was obvious that she had been dying to see his weapon.

The young vessel gave a nervous laugh upon seeing Ruby's behavior, before pulling out his silver butterfly knives from his pockets.

"Oh…my…Dust! His weapons are so cool!" Ruby squealed with delight as she kept her eyes glued on Kval's silver knives. "Just look at how shiny they are!"

"Huh. I honestly thought he was going to fight with his bare hands," Yang said as she scratched her head, tilting it slightly. "Weird."

Weiss narrowed her eyes at Kval, then started whispering to Blake. "Hey, don't you think that weapon is a bit too small for killing Grimm?"

All Blake could do was shrug in response. "Well, the only way to find out is to see him fight."

Kval went into a combat stance, not tearing his eyes away from the small metal cage. Taking in a few deep breaths, he finally gave the professor a nod to tell him that he was ready.

"Then let the battle…begin!"

And with that, Professor Port sliced the cage's lock in half with just a swing of his weapon.

With the lock now broken, the Grimm inside lunged its way out of the cage and growled at Kval.

The two-legged Grimm stared him down, and Kval decided to do the same. The Grimm appeared to be a Creep, with its tail swaying from side to side as it was preparing to strike at any given moment.

"Go kick its tail!" Nora cheered loudly from where she was seated, causing Ren to cover his face with one hand as he sighed.

"Make us proud!" Ruby supported him with a bright smile, waving around a small red flag all the while.

"Show us what you got!" Yang gave him a thumbs up, her trademark grin present.

"Fight well!" The fact that Blake had just also given him her support surprised him.

Kval smiled at them as thanks.

The Grimm was getting impatient, however. It immediately charged at Kval without warning. He knew this, and simply evaded out of the Grimm's way.

"Quite agile. I like that!" Professor Port complimented.

The Creep turned itself around and attempted to charge at him once more, but this time Kval stood his ground with his knives at the ready.

"Hey! W-What are you doing!?" Jaune shouted upon seeing the sight of Kval not moving out of harm's way.

Once the Creep was close enough, it opened up its jaws and attempted to bite its prey.

But Kval had other plans.

His hands quickly went inside the Creep's opened maw right before stabbing its lower and upper jaws, keeping it _extremely_ wide open.

"Whoa!"

One of the students stared at him in shock. Scratch that, _everyone_ in class was staring at him in shock, and that included Professor Port.

He was keeping the thing's jaws open like it was nothing, but the look on Kval's face clearly told them that the Creep was fighting back. Though, it's no surprise, simply because any other type of Grimm would've done the same.

Kval gritted his teeth. "B-Be a good boy…and stand down."

The Creep didn't take the words too well, as it started shaking its head around. This made keeping the damn thing's jaws open a lot more harder, but Kval didn't give in, lest he wanted to lose his arms.

"L-Looks like…I'll have to use it," Kval muttered, closing his eyes. "Let's just hope this works."

As the students were staring at the struggle that was currently happening in amazement, they didn't take note of the dark green energy around Kval's arms. Said energy then shaped itself into two serpents, which were wrapped around each of his arms, their light green eyes glowing brightly.

After a few more seconds of struggling, Kval finally opened his eyes, revealing his snake-like slits. And with that, he decided to say one last word to the poor creature.

"Die."

Kval forced the Creep's jaws wide open and ended up ripping its upper jaw apart, killing it instantly.

Everyone in the room was stunned upon witnessing what he just did, along with Port himself. They finally took note of the faint green energy emitting from his arms, but none dared to question. At least not yet.

The entire classroom was filled with silence. Apparently, the serpents around his arms had immediately vanished after the Creep was killed, so no one saw a thing.

"Kazuma, h-how did you do that?" Pyrrha finally asked.

Kval scratched his cheek upon receiving the question. "I-It was…nothing?" he said, and was later caught off-guard when someone gave him a pat on the back. A quick look revealed that it was none other than Professor Port.

"That was an incredible fight! I will be looking forward to having you in my next class!" Port exclaimed.

Once Professor Port told the students that class was dismissed, the entire class wasted no time in bombarding Kval with tons of questions. He could not even answer a single one they gave him, simply because they were asking at the same time.

"Dude! How the hell did you do that!?"

"How did you managed to keep that thing from biting your arms off!?"

"That was insane! Weren't you even afraid when you were holding that thing!?"

"Mind teaching me that move you just did!?"

"What on Remnant is your Semblance!? You gotta tell me!"

"I…uh…I…" Kval felt a hand land on his shoulder before he could say anything. He looked behind him, and to his relief it was Yang.

"Sorry guys, but we need to go so later!" The blonde wasted no time in dragging Kval away from the group of students. She had no other choice but to run when some of them started following her though.

 **-IIXII-**

"Dude! What was _that_!?" Yang exclaimed.

The bubbly bomber was practically bouncing beside him and flailing her arms around as she talked, much more energetic than usual. "Yeah! You were like grabbing and then you were like struggling and then and then you ripped its upper jaw off!" Nora opened her arms widely to emphasize her point, her face filled with nothing but excitement and energy.

Ren nodded. "I have to agree with Nora on this. I'm quite impressed at what you did back there."

"And you did all that with just your knives! That's impossible!" Jaune exclaimed in disbelief, prompting Weiss to smack his head not too long after that.

"Not too loud you imbecile!"

Jaune rubbed his head in utter embarrassment, averting his gaze elsewhere as he grumbled.

"W-Well, it was nothing really," Kval said, which ended up with him receiving unconvinced looks from his friends and teammates. "What?"

"Oh it was something! You don't know how proud I am to have you on my team!" Ruby exclaimed with a bit of pride in her voice.

"T-Thanks," Kval thanked her in a somewhat shy manner, letting out a nervous chuckle moments later.

"Anyway, what was that green energy from earlier?" Blake inquired, gaining everyone's attention.

Kval took the time to think, before quickly cracking up a small smile when an idea crossed his mind. "Well…I can show you guys later back at our dorms."

"What about us!?" Nora jumped and hugged Kval's arm tightly, pouting as hard as she was able to. "You're not gonna leave us in the dark, are you?"

Kval turned to look at Nora with an unsure expression, then to Ren. "Uh…Ren, a little help please?"

Ren shook his head. "Again, I have to agree with Nora. To be honest, I want to know more about that green energy myself. Sorry about this."

"I am a bit curious as well," Pyrrha said with an apologetic smile. She then giggled. "Sorry."

"E-Eh? Then, I guess it's fine. I don't mind that much really," said Kval, earning him a bone-crushing hug from Nora afterwards. "O-Ow…"

"Thank you!" Nora grinned.

Kval laughed nervously.

"A-Anyway, what kind of class are we having next?"

"Combat Class is next, so be prepared," Weiss answered. The heiress folded her arms and looked to the side, adding, "Though, it seems to me that you are more than capable enough of handling yourself in battle, so there is no need to worry."

"Speaking of which, here we are," Yang announced, which gained the others' attention.

True to her words, the class was just in front of them. And upon entering, it revealed that Professor Goodwitch was already inside, and she gave them a nod in greeting before tapping something on her scroll.

Glynda eyed the green-haired boy for a brief moment, before shaking her head sideways, which was then followed by a short sigh. It's clear that she was still uncomfortable with the idea of him attending Beacon alongside the other students. Though, the sight of Kval getting along with his own teammates along with Team JNPR managed to ease her worries, if only for a bit.

As they took their seats and talked to one another, more students began filling up the room. And soon after, class began.

With this, Glynda cleared her throat, gaining everyone's undivided attention.

"Alright class, the first pair of people who will get to spar today will be…" She tapped on her scroll, and the two large screens in the sparring room showed two familiar faces. "…Nora Valkyrie and Yang Xiao Long."

"Ah crud. Well, wish me luck guys," Yang said with a sheepish grin.

"Don't worry Yang, I'm rooting for you!" Ruby cheered. She then gave her sister a quick hug, prompting the older girl to giggle as she returned the gesture.

"Be more confident will you?" Weiss told the blonde brawler with her arms crossed. "You'll be fine."

"No need to worry Yang. I'm sure you can do it." Blake gave her blonde partner a small smile and patted her on the shoulder.

Kval simply observed the scene with a raised brow.

"I'll do my best!"

Though, Nora's reaction was no different. A quick look at her teammates, it revealed that they were wishing her luck as well.

Kval tilted his head to the side, then turned to Ruby. "What's going on?"

Ruby let out a nervous laugh as she answered, "Well, the match always ends in a tie when it's the two of them."

"R-Really?" Kval asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. Yang's really strong. If she keeps taking damage from her opponents, then her power level will just keep on rising. While Nora, she's…well, she's the type of person that you _don't_ want to mess with. Plus, her weapon is pretty dangerous," Ruby explained, sweating all the while.

"I-I see." Kval nodded at that.

Glynda tapped on her scroll, causing a shield dome to appear around the ring. The dome was installed to prevent stray bullets from harming the other students. Obviously, it was for safety reasons.

The strict professor eyed the two female combatants, and gave them a nod to start the match.

Upon receiving Glynda's signal, Yang activated Ember Celica and charged at Nora. Seeing this, the other girl decided to stand her ground with Magnhild at the ready.

Once close enough, Yang lunged herself forward and, with the help of Ember Celica, attempted to punch Nora in the face. Nora countered the attack, however. She sidestepped and swung her large war hammer upwards, sending the blonde brawler high up into the air.

"Ouch!" Kval winced at the sight, as Yang crashed herself down to the cold floor.

Getting back up on her feet, Yang then tried charging at Nora again, lunging herself forward once more. This time she was able to punch Nora, who was at that time in the middle of transforming her weapon, mixed with a shot of Ember Celica.

Nora was sent halfway across the ring.

"T-This is…highly dangerous," Kval found himself saying as he watched Nora. However, the girl was up and ready in just a matter of seconds, which greatly surprised him. "Wow…"

"Well, this is just a sparring match, so don't worry about it too much," Ruby assured with a sweet little smile, despite the scene happening before her.

"D-Don't…worry too much, you say?" Kval was not entirely too sure about that though, as the sight of Yang being blasted away by Nora's Magnhild which was now in its grenade launcher form came into view. "So how does a sparring match ends usually?"

Ruby pointed at one of the large screens. "Well, whoever has their Aura in the red first loses, thus ending the match. It's really simple."

Kval nodded and fixed his gaze back on the fight. The two large screens above showed that both Nora and Yang's Aura were already depleted in half, which means that the fight was nearing its end.

Talk about a quick battle.

"Take this!" Yang roared, as she began shooting her flares at Nora repeatedly.

The bubbly bomber simply dodged through all the flares with ease, smirking as she did so. However, not too long after that, one of them somehow managed to hit her in the chest.

"Ow!"

Nora quickly recovered herself and began shooting her grenades in Yang's general direction.

Yang attempted to counter the attack by shooting the grenades with her flares, but there were just too many. And so, she was eventually overpowered by the never ending grenades and was blasted away.

Nora changed Magnhild into its war hammer form and immediately charged towards Yang, in hopes of ending the match with herself as the winner.

However, Yang had slowly went back up to her feet, with her beautiful blonde hair now emitting fire of all things. She bumped her gauntlets together, causing her entire body to light up in flames.

Nora went wide-eyed at the turn of events and stopped in her tracks, transforming her weapon back into its grenade launcher form.

Yang didn't wait long though, as she began shooting her flares repeatedly at Nora again. The bubbly bomber quickly did the same with her own weapon, shooting down the flares with her grenades.

But that's when their weapons went dry.

"Does this also signals the end of a match?" Kval asked his young leader, but was surprised when Yang and Nora began charging at one another.

"Nope!" Ruby replied with a small grin.

Kval turned to look back at the fight, just in time to see Yang uppercutting Nora with Ember Celica. However, Nora had apparently shot her final grenade at the blonde brawler when Magnhild was brought down, taking Yang with her.

It seemed that she had been saving that last one.

"Heh. That tricky little pancake lover," Kval heard Ren say, and with a quick look it revealed that he was smiling.

The large screens above now showed that _both_ Yang and Nora's Aura were in the red, meaning that the match was over.

"The match is a tie. Again," Glynda announced. She then proceeded to deactivate the shield dome. "How surprising…" she muttered.

The two female combatants stood up limply, and gave each other their trademark grins.

"Nice shot, Queen of Pancakes," Yang complimented, giving her a thumbs up.

"You too, Hairy Flames," Nora said and did the same. She then slowly and steadily made her way towards the exit, and was then followed by Yang seconds later.

 **-IIXII-**

"Well, that was…something," Kval commented. He then handed Yang a bottle of water, which she took before giggling.

"You haven't seen me go all-out yet." Yang grinned widely and drank the water, leaving Kval speechless at what she said.

"Y-You…weren't?"

Yang emptied the bottle and turned her head to face him.

"Nope!"

Kval's face paled up at that moment, but then Glynda cleared her throat to get their attention once more before anything else could be said.

"Alright class, the next match we will have…" Glynda trailed off as she tapped on her scroll. Yang and Nora's faces on the screens were then replaced with two more familiar faces.

Kval was currently trembling in his seat, chewing on his lower lip in slight fear upon seeing the sight of his own face being displayed on both screens. With quick reflexes, he raised his hand in order to ask a simple question.

"Professor Glynda Goodwitch, may I excuse myself?"

All Kval received from Glynda was a sharp glare, and some nervous laughs along with sheepish smiles from his friends, which prompted him to sigh in defeat. Looks like he had no other choice.

Slowly, Kval made his way over to the ring.

Upon entering the ring, the shield dome was activated again. And his opponent, was none other than Cardin Winchester.

If Kval was surprised, then he did a pretty good job at hiding it. Well, _if_ he was even surprised in the first place.

The tall boy was currently glaring daggers at Kval. "Hey freak, you're going to regret what you did to me a few days back at the dining hall."

Kval stared at Cardin in utter confusion, tilting his head slightly. "Eh? But all I did was glare at you."

Cardin's left eye started twitching. "Do you have any idea how humiliating that was?" he said through gritted teeth. Cardin quickly pointed his mace at Kval before he could come up with a reply. "I'll make you pay."

Glynda simply ignored their talk. She gave the two a nod to tell them that the match has started.

With this, Cardin charged forward.

Kval sidestepped as Cardin swung his mace downwards. Seeing a small opening, Kval gave Cardin a swift kick to the gut, which created a short distance between them as results. The leader of Team CRDL tried charging at his opponent once more, but Kval simply rolled out of the way.

Catching his opponent's movements, Cardin turned to Kval and proceeded to swing his mace around wildly in hopes of landing a single hit.

But Kval had avoided death by evading attacks from three assailants at once when he was a member of the Mage's Guild, so he managed to avoid all of Cardin's swings rather easily. To be perfectly honest, the big guy was pretty slow.

Comparing the three assailants who tried to kill him with Cardin, this was nothing but cakewalk.

While everyone was amazed at how Kval was able to evade the rapid swings without getting hit, Cardin was currently getting more and more angrier by each passing second. So in the end, Cardin did the first thing that came to his mind.

He smashed his mace down onto the floor and sent a series of explosions towards Kval.

Taking note of the explosions, Kval jumped to the side and immediately blocked a swing that could have cracked his skull with his silver knives.

"That was so close," Kval muttered.

"You're really starting to piss me off," Cardin growled.

Kval pushed Cardin's mace away with enough force and swept his legs off the floor, which caused the tall bully to fall on his back.

"Damn it!"

Pretty much pissed off at the fact that his opponent wasn't taking the fight seriously, Cardin got up to his feet and taunted, "What's the matter? Too scared to hit me?"

Kval looked to him, then smiled a sheepish smile. "W-With your armor and everything, I don't think my weapons can do any damage," he explained, scratching his cheek all the while.

"You…" Cardin gripped his mace tightly, before quickly calming himself down.

Figuring that insulting him would not effect him in any way, Cardin was about to send another series of explosions towards Kval, until a thought came to his mind. He let out a chuckle, and gave the smaller boy a cocky grin, much to his confusion.

"Weak," Cardin said, prompting Kval to tilt his head slightly.

"Excuse me?"

Cardin chuckled once more, but then glared at his green-haired opponent. "You told me that you couldn't hurt me, right?"

Kval slowly nodded, still confused.

"Well, that's because you're weak. Just like your friends over there." Cardin wasted no time in pointing a finger at said group of friends. Team RWBY and Team JNPR, not expecting this, began glaring at Cardin.

And unbeknownst to all of them, Cardin's words managed to cut into Kval.

Bit by bit.

"Yeah that's right. A bunch of weaklings. Especially that pathetic excuse of a leader you have there."

A sudden gasp could be heard, and it revealed that it came from Ruby.

Kval twitched.

Yang gave Cardin a death glare as a warning, along with the others. She held Ruby close to her in order to comfort her, but the blonde could clearly see the pain in her sister's eyes. Ruby was a deadly fighter, that much was clear, but Yang knew that she still could not handle insults that well, especially if they came from people like Cardin.

And so after this is all done, she will make sure to murder Cardin.

"What's wrong, freak?" Cardin pressed further, feeling as if he had won the battle.

A small smile settled itself across Kval's face.

"You going to take that back?"

Cardin raised an eyebrow at the sudden question, before chuckling. "Once a freak, always a freak," the bully said, but was immediately confused at the sight of Kval shaking his head sideways.

"I wasn't taking about me. I was talking about my friends," Kval clarified, his smile still present.

Cardin scoffed.

"Of course not. The little brat got accepted into Beacon Academy two years early. That's solid proof that she's weak. What are you, stupid or something?"

Everyone began whispering to one another, all the while Ruby tried her best to ignore Cardin's words by hugging her older sister for comfort.

Glynda only stared at the scene with a neutral expression. She wasn't helping simply because these people will be the defenders of Remnant. If they couldn't handle a few words from someone like Cardin, then how else were they going to survive a battle against the creatures of Grimm?

But she had to admit, she pretty much hated Cardin ever since the first day he had started bullying Velvet. And let's not even begin with his teammates. They were always being racist against the faunus people, and just by looking at them made her feel sick.

"I'm sorry, but I think you heard me wrong."

The entire room was filled with utter silence. All eyes focused in on Kval, his smile now nowhere to be seen.

"Are you…going to take all that back?"

Cardin did not know why, but he suddenly felt uneasy for some reason.

"O-Of course I won't, you freak. Why would I?"

"Are you sure?" Kval tilted his head in an unnerving manner. "You'll regret it." As if on cue, some sort of dark green energy began engulfing his entire frame.

To say that the students were shocked was an understatement.

"What the hell is that!?"

"Shit! You see that!?"

"Isn't that the same energy we saw on his arms when he ripped that Creep apart earlier?"

"This is getting intense. I got a bad feeling about this."

"He should have just taken back what he said when he had the chance…"

Team RWBY and Team JNPR looked to one another with worry etched across their faces, before landing their eyes back on Kval.

"Y-You think he's okay?" Jaune asked, his question directed at Ruby.

Ruby, who was still hugging her sister for comfort, shook her head. She was also focusing her eyes on Kval, unsure of what to make of his sudden change in behavior. "I…I honestly can't tell," she said.

Weiss examined the dark energy around Kval's body, and was surprised to find it glowing, albeit faintly. "Pyrrha, what is that thing?"

Pyrrha shook her head in response, as she herself did not know the answer to that question.

Ren was scanning Kval from head to toe, while Nora was getting more and more excited as seconds passed by. "I'm guessing he's about to show us what that green energy was," Ren murmured.

"I'll make you regret…saying all those things about my friends," Kval growled at Cardin, which surprised pretty much everyone, and that included Glynda herself.

Kval always appeared to be a kind and gentle person, but this was the first time they have seen him act all hostile towards someone. Luckily, that _someone_ was Cardin Winchester.

"S-Shut up you…y-you…y-you…"

Cardin was at a loss for words, as three large green serpents appeared behind Kval. He couldn't help but take a few steps back in fear as the serpents eyed him, their jaws opened up slightly as if they were about to strike at any moment.

"What kind of Semblance is that!?" some student whispered to his group of friends.

Ren and the others were quite shocked at the sight of the green serpents. Nora on the other hand, was grinning widely at the turn of events.

"S-Snakes!" she exclaimed in an excited manner, but was ignored.

Glynda was not sure if she could even believe her eyes. Kval had the ability to summon green serpents, and it sure as hell was not something that she had seen before. She was tempted to end the match, but curiosity got the better of her, as she wanted to know more of his powers.

So in the end, the strict professor simply adjusted her glasses and hoped that no one would end up in the infirmary.

Though one could only hope.

"I hope you're ready Cardin, because right now…" Kval aimed his knife at Cardin, causing the serpents to snap their jaws wide open to reveal their sharp fangs. "…I'm not messing around."

The large serpents then lunged themselves at Cardin, who was taken off-guard. He quickly swung his mace down onto the floor and sent a series of explosions to counter the incoming attack.

It worked, but Kval did not hesitate to send him up in the air with a kick. He proceeded to summon another serpent above Cardin, which slammed him back down to the floor, vanishing afterwards.

Kval was about to stomp on Cardin's head for good measure, but the tall asshole managed to roll out of the way in time, causing the spot where his feet crashed into to crack slightly.

"Get back here, Cardin."

Once Cardin was up on his feet, Kval engulfed his right leg in dark energy, and kicked the bully from behind. To add things up, he managed to send Cardin a few extra feet away with the help of two serpents, which had appeared out of nowhere as they slammed themselves into his back.

"Ugh…that freak…"

The leader of Team CRDL cursed as he slowly got to his feet. He turned to Kval, and simply charged at him with his weapon held up high. "You stupid freak!" Cardin yelled out in anger. He swung his mace down on Kval, but his attack was unfortunately blocked by a small black portal, which appeared out of nowhere.

The portal produced green sparks of electricity as the mace made contact with it.

"H-Huh!? The hell is this!?" Cardin shouted, his eyes widened in utter shock.

The others were also taken aback at the sudden appearance of the mysterious black portal. Though, none of them dared to question about it.

Cardin was about to create another series of explosions with his mace, but decided against it when he saw Kval's visible right eye.

"Ouroboros."

"What are you-" Cardin was unable to finish his sentence as a chain with its tip resembling that of a snake's head came shooting out of the portal, knocking him away in the process.

"M-More snakes!?" Nora exclaimed, staring at the chain in disbelief along with the others.

"J-Just how prepared is this guy!?" a student asked out loud, but no one even bothered to answer.

Kval looked down at Cardin with his face devoid of emotion.

The bully was currently on the ground and was trying his best to get back up, despite how exhausted he was. Cardin wanted to forfeit the match right then and there, but he needed a moment to catch his breathing.

Too bad Kval was not in the mood for mercy today, as he aimed his knife at Cardin.

Upon receiving its order, Ouroboros quickly coiled itself tightly around Cardin's body. The chain lifted him off the ground, and slammed him back down near Kval's feet moments later.

With Ouroboros still coiled around him and his mace out of his reach, Cardin knew he was screwed. Looking up, the first thing he saw was Kval's serpentine eyes, as they stared into his indigo ones rather menacingly.

"Now Cardin, I hope you've learned your lesson," Kval muttered as he lifted his foot, and later proceeded to crash it down onto Cardin's head. "Am I right?"

All Cardin could do at that moment, was do what his instincts told him to do.

"Y-Yes, I've learned my lesson…"

Kval sighed. He then turned his head to examine one of the large screens above, and it revealed that Cardin's Aura was almost near the red.

How unfortunate.

Kval fixed his gaze back down on Cardin. "Well, since you still have plenty of Aura left, I guess the match isn't over. You know what that means, don't you?"

Cardin only gritted his teeth in response.

"So, let me help you with that."

And so, Kval lifted his foot, and crashed it back down onto Cardin's head.

And again. And again. And again.

 **-IIXII-**

Ruby could not believe what she was witnessing.

Kval was currently beating Cardin to a bloody pulp like there's no tomorrow. She almost felt bad for the bully, who was now currently getting his head stomped on over and over again. If Ruby was being honest with herself, seeing Kval acting like this made her feel uncomfortable for some reason. Though, no one could blame her for that.

Even though Kval seemed as though he was enjoying stomping on the bully's head over and over again, she knew that he just wanted to end the match quickly. He really was weird at times, but that was one of the main reasons why it was fun to be around him, as weird as it sounds.

With Cardin finally out for the count, Glynda immediately deactivated the shield dome and walked up towards Kval with a scowl across her face.

"Mister Kval, just what in the-" She stopped herself when Kval held up a hand, motioning for her to stop.

"My apologies Professor Goodwitch, but is it acceptable for my team, along with Team JNPR, to go and excuse ourselves for the rest of the day?" Kval asked, smiling sheepishly ever so slightly.

Glynda was about to scream in his face and say no, but the sight of Professor Ozpin standing at the doorway prevented her from doing that. She raised an eyebrow in her superior's direction.

Ozpin smiled, and nodded.

Glynda rolled her eyes. She then pinched the bridge of her nose, and said, "I shall allow it, but only for today. Do I make myself clear, Mister Kval?"

"T-Thank you, Professor!" Kval said. So with that all said and done, he quickly made his way to where his friends were seated at.

Judging by the looks on their faces, they were clearly a bit shaken from watching his sparring match with Cardin earlier. Minus Nora, who gave him a bone-crushing hug, yelling about snakes and chains for some odd reason. Soon after, she dragged him to the exit.

The rest of Team JNPR and Team RWBY stared at one another for a brief moment, before they too decided to thank Professor Goodwitch. It did not take a while for them to leave the room after that.

Professor Ozpin chuckled. He took a quick sip of his coffee, and smiled.

"This really turned out to be an interesting year."

 **-IIXII-**

 **That's a wrap!**

 **In Phase 8, Kval will show his friends a bit of his skills, and maybe also reveal a little bit of his past in the process.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed Phase 7 of Still Alive. Though, I'm not really that good when it comes to fight scenes. And also thanks a lot for your continued support! It means a lot.**

 **Thank you so much for reading. I'll be seeing you readers again in the next Phase, I guess. Later!**


	8. Phase 8

**Welcome to Phase 8 of Still Alive!**

 **I was planning on updating this yesterday** **,** **but** **my** **Internet was down. Anyway, thanks again for your continued support guys. It means a lot to me.**

 **Now** **enough of my babbling. Time for** **us** **to read!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

"Do they breathe green fire!? They can breathe fire, right!?"

That was the seventh question Kval had received from the highly energetic Nora for the past two minutes. Heck, she did not even leave any chances for the others to ask him their own questions.

After entering Team RWBY's dorm room, Ren had excused himself to take care of a few things, saying that he'll be back in a few minutes. Thus, leaving his childhood friend alone with the others.

So of course without him present, Nora was free to run her mouth wild as much as she liked.

If a normal person were to ever try to answer all of Nora's never-ending questions, then they would surely go insane in less than three minutes or less.

In truth, Nora was unaware that her friends were currently in a state of slight fear. After witnessing Kval's terrifying abilities, they were afraid of the possibility in which she might anger him in some way, which will undoubtedly cause him to lash out at all of them with his serpents.

Though luckily for them, however, Kval did not seem to mind the questions.

"T-They don't, Nora. That's impossible."

Nora pouted at the answer, before scratching her chin with her gaze upwards. It was pretty obvious that she was trying to come up with another question.

"Sorry I'm late guys. Something just came up."

Ren's calm voice caught their attention.

The silent ninja had somehow entered the room without being noticed. But to them, it was not anything unusual since Ren was always the silent type.

"Hey Ren! It turns out that the snakes couldn't breathe fire! And also-" She stopped herself when Ren held up a hand, motioning for her to stop talking.

"Nora, don't you think you should give the others a chance to ask Kazuma their own questions?" Ren suggested.

Nora simply pouted in response.

"Okay!" Jaune cleared his throat. "So uh…h-how did you do all that?" he asked somewhat nervously, while at the same time feeling curious.

"Oh, you mean this?" Kval tilted his head to one side. And just like that, three large serpents appeared directly behind him. And the way their eyes seemed to glow was full-blown intimidating.

This made everyone move back in slight fear at the sight, but not Nora, funnily enough. She just ran up to one of them without a care in the world, and wasted no time in wrapping her arms around it as if it was a cute little pet you could keep at home without having to risk it biting your face off every once in a while.

"Snakey!" Nora exclaimed.

The serpent looked down at the friendly Valkyrie girl with its glowing eyes, then surprisingly began to rub its cheek against her face in a friendly manner.

"Aw! He likes me!"

"Nora!" Ren called out, a small hint of fear in his voice.

"Don't worry, Ren. They will only be hostile if I want them to," Kval explained, ignoring the fact that Nora was now sitting on the serpent's back as if it was a horse.

"B-But…aren't they like…poisonous?" Jaune asked. He tried touching one of the serpents, but then quickly pulled his hand back when it hissed at him. The darn thing was probably just making fun of him. "G-Good snake!"

"Well, they can…if I want them to," Kval said, scratching his cheek as he did. "But they're really friendly, so there is no need to be afraid," he assured them, thus making the others relax a bit.

Upon taking a closer look at the snakes, it revealed that they were _actually_ _smiling_. To some of them, the sight was a tad bit creepy.

"A-Are they smiling at us?" Yang squinted her eyes at one of the serpents. The serpent which she was currently staring at only tilted its head slightly in response, which unintentionally made her smile at how cute the darn thing looked. "I guess…they aren't really that scary when they're friendly." Yang grinned. She then turned to her partner. "Come on over here Blake! He won't bite!"

Blake shook her head. "I-I'm not really good with snakes…u-um…kyah!" She screamed when she felt something rubbing itself against her back. With a quick look, it revealed to be one of the serpents. And upon realising that she had just embarrassed herself in front of everyone, Blake began to blush. She glared daggers at the serpent.

"D-Did she just…? No. It must be my imagination." Weiss shook her head, not believing the normally calmed and collected member of their team had just embarrassed herself by letting out a high-pitched scream, and a cute one at that.

Blake was now on her bunk bed, not tearing her eyes away from the large serpent which had just rubbed itself against her back a few seconds earlier.

"So, what are they made of, exactly?" asked Pyrrha. She was currently eyeing the snake Nora was riding on, and was unable to help the urge to giggle at the adorable sight. "Nora, be careful. They aren't pets."

"Well, they are all made out of my energy." Kval held one of his hands up and began engulfing it with said energy. The smile on his face grew wider upon seeing them all staring at him in amazement, minus Nora of course. She was too busy playing around with one of his serpents for that.

"Oh you're a good boy!"

Nora's loud and cheerful voice managed to catch their attention. Looking at where Nora was, it showed that she was currently hugging the snake's large head, while at the same time rubbing it affectionately. The look on the serpent's face told everyone that it enjoyed the experience.

The sight made Kval somewhat happy on the inside, but he immediately brushed those feelings aside.

"Alright, time for them to go."

The bubbly bomber looked to him in total shock. "B-But can't he stay!?" she begged. "Please? Pretty please?"

"S-Sorry Nora, but they all can't." Kval smiled sheepishly when Nora started hugging the serpent tightly in her arms, pouting at him all the while. "Uh…"

"Nora." Ren walked up to Nora and gave her a pat on the shoulder, smiling at her. "Please."

"Fine…" Nora muttered. She proceeded to unwrap her arms from the green serpent. She then gave the serpent a sad smile, as it slowly faded away along with the other two. "I miss him already…"

Kval was about to go and comfort the Valkyrie girl, but was unable to when a certain someone decided to zip her way in front of him, her face filled with excitement.

"Kazuma! Can I see your weapon!?" Ruby practically yelled into his face.

Kval cocked an eyebrow. Seeing no harm, he pulled out his knives and held them out for Ruby to see, but the sudden shake of her head confused him. "Eh?"

"The other one! The one that came out of that black portal!" Ruby explained.

At this, everyone seemed interested to see Kval's weapon up close.

"Well, I guess it won't hurt to show you guys," Kval said, which earned him a cute squeal from Ruby. That behavior of hers will never fail to make him chuckle. "Now, stand aside Ruby," he instructed, in which she quickly did. Judging by the look on Ruby's face, he could tell that she was very eager to see his weapon.

Making sure that Ruby was at a safe distance, Kval called upon the black portal which he had used to block Cardin's attack earlier during Combat Class.

"Ouroboros."

The very same chain which they had all witnessed from before came shooting out of the black portal, much to everyone's surprise.

"Whoa!" Jaune exclaimed, watching as the chain spiraled itself around Kval. "Now _that_ is a cool weapon."

Ruby was literally jumping around like a small kid who had just received a present, while the others were staring at the chain in amazement.

"Oh Dust! How did you managed to forge this!? It's so cool!" Ruby exclaimed. She proceeded to examine his weapon, without touching it of course.

"Well, I didn't exactly created it," Kval explained, embarrassed.

"Huh?" Ruby turned to the embarrassed Kval, tilting her head slightly after that. "Oh. But it's still awesome! It could even move around on it's own!" she said, keeping her eyes on the chain as it slowly moved around in the air. "How cool is that?"

"So, what's the name of your weapon?" Blake asked, not tearing her eyes away from the moving chain.

Kval smiled. "Geminus Anguium: Ouroboros."

His friends came staring at him in confusion, not understanding a word he just said.

"Ouroboros for short," Kval quickly added with a nervous laugh.

Ruby zipped her way over to Kval's side, grinning widely. "That is so cool! Can I hold it for just a moment?"

Kval quickly shook his head. "Sorry, but I can't."

"Please?" Ruby begged. Desperate times calls for drastic measures, and so, she gave him her cute puppy dog eyes. It would work on him, and she was sure of it.

Though unfortunately for her, it somehow did not.

"Cute, but no means no, Ruby," Kval said, smiling as he did so.

"Aw…" Ruby pouted. "But why can't I?"

Kval offered the pouting girl a small apologetic smile, then said, "I have my reasons."

Now grumpy, Ruby looked to the side with her cheeks puffed out in response to his words, crossing her arms afterwards. "Fine…" she grumbled.

"Hey, how does this thing work anyway?" Jaune inquired out of the blue.

"Well, it hits whatever I want it to hit. Also, Ouroboros is a never-ending chain if you're all probably wondering."

Everyone was shocked upon hearing this.

Feeling somewhat curious, Ren cleared his throat and decided to ask his own question.

"So you're telling us…that the chain has no end?"

"There _is_ an end to the chain. But what I'm saying is that it could make itself longer," Kval explained, who nodded in understanding.

"So where does this portal leads to?" Yang asked, pointing at the black portal with her thumb.

"Well, I don't really know. The only thing that is able to enter that portal is Ouroboros itself. You will also get shocked if you try touching it. Only _I_ am able to touch it without getting hurt," Kval explained. He took note of Nora, who was now backing away from the black portal with a sheepish grin on her face.

"So, any other questions?" Kval asked, and the sight of them shaking their heads confirmed everything. He was about to send Ouroboros back into its portal, but soon changed his mind when one of the bags in the room started moving on its own.

Team RWBY began to panic when they noticed Kval looking over at the mysterious bag with curiosity written across his face. Upon receiving its order, the chain wrapped itself around the small rucksack and carried it towards its wielder.

Kval eyed the bag for a moment, and took note of it shaking quite a bit.

"Kazuma, don't open the bag!" Ruby yelled out in panic, but she was too late.

 _Bark!_

 _Bark!_

The entire room went silent.

Kval simply stared at the dog with a dumbfounded expression.

"What is a dog…doing here?" the young vessel found himself asking.

Reacting quickly, Ruby immediately took the small corgi away from the chain and stood beside her sister.

Weiss sighed, shrugging. "Well, it looks like he found out."

"Don't tell anyone about him, okay?" Ruby begged. She held the small corgi tightly in her arms, staring at the ground in shame. "And also, sorry for not telling you about this, Kazuma…"

"That's our dog. His name is Zwei," Yang explained with a sheepish grin. "Crazy, right?"

"I was obviously against this though," Blake added, earning a glare from the blonde brawler.

Kval remained silent as he stared at the small corgi, unsure of what to make of this whole situation. And why was it staring at him like that? Surely he did not look terrifying, did he?

"Your secret is safe with us, Ruby!" Nora exclaimed all of a sudden.

The other members of Team JNPR shook their heads in response to Nora's words, right before giving Ruby their smiles.

Jaune sighed. "We'll keep it quiet. You guys can count on us." He had to admit, the small dog looked kind of cute.

"Thanks guys!" Ruby looked to each and every one of them with a cheerful smile, then turned to a still quiet Kval. "You're going to keep this quiet too…right?"

Everyone turned their attention to Kval.

"I guess…it wouldn't hurt," Kval found himself muttering, still unsure.

Nevertheless, Ruby grinned. "Thanks Kazuma! You're the best!" she exclaimed.

And boy did that made him all flustered.

Having the whole day without classes sure was a wonderful experience.

After Team JNPR had excused themselves to do some other things for the day, Kval found himself killing time by watching his teammates playing around with Zwei. Though, Blake had other ideas, and the reason for that was obvious.

To be frank, he felt pretty much left out because of that canine. But that all changed when someone decided to get his attention by poking him at the back of his head. Turning around, Kval was then immediately greeted with the sight of Blake, who was still on the top of her bunk bed.

"Hey," Blake greeted. "You seem awfully lonely."

"Yeah, I am. I have to admit though, you've all done a pretty good job at hiding that dog from me." Kval chuckled, and Blake could not help the urge to roll her eyes in response to that.

"That dog is really annoying," she muttered.

Kval suddenly felt pretty bad for the Belladonna girl. She was a cat faunus, after all.

Though in his opinion, the sight of Blake jumping around every time Zwei barked for no reason was actually kind of cute, but telling her that would be an act of suicide. So he decided to keep that to himself.

With that aside however, right now he needed to get something off his chest…

"Hey, remember that question you asked me after that dining hall incident?" Kval suddenly said, though his eyes remained locked on his other teammates.

"Hm?" Blake was now focusing her full attention on Kval at this point. "Which one?" She took note of the faint little smile which was displayed across his face, and she was not quite sure if she should take that as a good thing _or_ a bad thing.

"You asked me what I was, remember?"

Blake narrowed her eyes.

"Well, I want you to keep this a secret. Don't tell anyone else, alright?"

Blake was now confused, but she just nodded anyway.

"Unlike you, I was created," Kval stated, unintentionally causing Blake to stop breathing due to shock for a brief while.

"W-What do you mean?" Blake whispered.

Kval crossed his arms, pausing in order to pick his words carefully. "I was created…as a vessel."

"A vessel? For what?" Blake pressed on further, curious.

Kval went silent for a few seconds, before quietly answering Blake's question with, "Something dangerous…or someone. That's the best answer that I could give you for the moment." He then turned to Blake, tilting his head slightly with a smile on his face. "Keep this quiet, will you?"

Blake immediately looked elsewhere, however, upon noticing the sad look in his eyes. Even then, she nodded. "I…I will."

"Thanks. It really means a lot to me." Kval turned his attention back to the others. "Where I came from…is a dark place if you want to know," he muttered.

"S-So…you're not human?" Blake just wanted to confirm, that was all. She was curious about that part, after all.

Kval turned to her one more time, and the worried look she was giving him made him chuckle a bit. "Are you worried about me?"

Her cheeks slowly turned red, and Blake found herself looking elsewhere once more. "I can't say that I'm not…" Blake mumbled.

"Don't worry about me, Blake, but thanks anyway." Shoving his hands inside his pockets, Kval looked up and started staring at the ceiling. "And to answer your question earlier…no, I'm just a vessel."

That was when Blake decided to poke at his head again, gaining his attention once more. "But you'll still be human to all of us, no matter what happens," she said.

Blake stared into Kval's yellow serpentine eyes with her amber ones, and she stayed that way for a brief moment. In truth, staring at those pair of eyes still scared at her, but she wanted to prove her point. Besides, it was not like his eyes would gobble her up or anything.

"You're never alone, Kazuma. You have us," Blake said to him.

"Huh…" Kval, noticing Blake trembling despite still having her eyes locked with his, decided that enough was enough. He knew just how terrifying his eyes could be to others, especially when it came to girls, so he slowly closed them up and smiled, if not for Blake's sake. "Thanks. I'm glad you guys think of me that way. But one question though."

Blake looked to him curiously, awaiting his question.

"Why keep that bow on your head? Doesn't it feel uncomfortable?"

The unexpected question immediately made her uncomfortable.

"I guess…I just don't want people to know who I really am. That's all," was Blake's answer.

"Ah." Kval chuckled. "You should reveal them though, because those extra pair of ears you have looks pretty cute on you. Not joking."

"H-Huh?" Blake's cheeks were on fire at this point. She quickly turned away, and yet found herself asking, "R-Really?"

"Of course! B-But I'm not forcing you or anything." Kval laughed nervously. "Like, who am I to do that, right?"

"Oh. W-Well, thanks Kazuma, but I'll just keep my bow on. I'm already used to wearing it anyway," Blake explained, smiling slightly.

"D-Don't mention it," Kval said, shrugging.

 **-IIXII-**

 **I hope Phase 8** **was enjoyable** **, and** **I do apologise** **if it** **seemed** **boring. I just needed Kval to explain a bit of his powers to Team RWBY and Team JNPR.**

 **But anyway, thanks again for reading. Also, from now on, I'll** **probably** **update twice, or maybe when I feel like it, trice a week. It would be a lot more easier for me that way.**

 **Anyway, I'll see you guys later in Phase 9!**


	9. Phase 9

**Welcome to Phase 9 of Still Alive!**

 **I'm really happy that this story came this far. And believe me when I say t** **hat t** **his story is going to get more interesting in the future Phases.**

 **Thanks guys, for all your support and reviews.** **G** **ives me the energy to write** **,** **like literally.**

 **Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy Phase 9.**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

The dining hall was as lively as always. Team RWBY and Team JNPR were seated at their table, chatting to one another about classes and such.

"I'm telling you guys! That woman started the whole fight with me first. All I wanted was a Strawberry Sunrise, and she told me to leave! Can you believe that?"

Yang was currently telling them about an incident that had transpired a few days ago, which involved herself entering a bar somewhere in Vale. Well, Yang being Yang, she simply trashed the whole place for unknown reasons.

"She was strong, I'll give her that. But eventually, she was overpowered by my Semblance."

Weiss merely rolled her eyes after she was done listening to the blonde brawler's tale. She then scoffed. "Yang, you should really stop getting yourself into trouble. If the police are after you, then don't expect me to help or anything."

The others nodded in agreement.

"B-But guys come on! It wasn't my fault!" Yang pouted as no one listened to her.

But fortunately enough one of them did.

"W-Well in my opinion it was her fault, because all you wanted was a drink. And if I remember correctly, you _did_ asked kindly for that drink, did you not? Beating up your customers is pretty stupid, to be honest."

Upon turning to see the person who had just said that, it revealed to be none other than Kval himself.

"See!? I told you guys!" Yang exclaimed with a smug grin, winking at Kval afterwards. Kval, of course, smiled at her in return, right before taking a large bite out of his boiled egg.

"Hey, isn't that Cardin over there?" Ren sounded, causing everyone at the table to look at where he was currently looking.

A few tables away from them, they watched as Cardin and the rest of his team apologising to Velvet. And Velvet, on the other hand, was currently staring at the group of bullies with a confused expression, unsure of what to do. She was clearly puzzled, that much was clear.

But upon taking a closer look at Cardin's face, it showed that he looked as if he was forcing himself to do it. Though, it was no surprise. The day he would start being nice would be the day Ozpin would stop drinking all his coffee, and that's saying something apparently.

The sight was rather weird, simply because it was not everyday people get to see Cardin apologising to others.

"I wonder what happened to them," Jaune found himself saying.

After a few seconds of silence, everyone at the table slowly turned their heads to Kval.

And boy were they taken aback at the sight of the sly smile which was playing across his lips. Hell, he looked evil. _Really evil_.

"Are…are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, sounding concerned.

Kval quickly looked to Pyrrha, his earlier smile already converted into something that was much more kid friendly. "Yes, I'm fine," he answered. "Why asked?"

Ruby squinted her eyes. "You didn't…do anything to Team CRDL, did you?"

Kval shook his head sideways in response to that. "Nothing out of the ordinary happened really. I just had a talk with them. That's all."

Everyone quickly tore their eyes away from Kval, as they began imagining all the sinister things he could have possibly done to Team CRDL. If a simple _talk_ from Kval was enough to make Cardin and his gang apologise to Velvet, then they did _n_ _o_ _t_ want to think of what a small threat could do.

Noticing the silence, Kval couldn't help but scratch his cheek and chuckle nervously. "S-So guys, what class are we having next?" he inquired with a tilt of his head, successfully changing the subject.

"We'll be having History," Weiss answered.

"That…sounds interesting," Kval said, sounding genuinely interested at that. However, the groans which he received from the others greatly confused him. Did he do something to upset them?

"Trust me. You'd be surprised to see everyone falling asleep in Professor Oobleck's class. I know deep down he's a good guy and all, but I just can't stand him at times," Jaune said with another groan.

"Seriously, that guy talks _way_ too fast. Not to mention he has an addiction towards coffee!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Yeah, just like you and your cookies," Yang teased, which earned her an annoyed look from her younger sibling. "What? It's true!"

"Time we left guys. Lunch break is almost over," Ren announced. He eyed his friends with his magenta eyes, then stood up, quickly followed by Nora.

Yang sighed. "This is going to be a long day, isn't it?"

Kval looked to everyone with an awkward smile. "Well, I guess I should prepare myself then…"

The walk to their next class was quiet. No conversation whatsoever. Kval turned his head to his friends, and took notice of the gloomy looks on their faces. Though, Nora and Weiss seemed normal, along with Pyrrha.

If his friends were _this_ gloomy just because of attending History Class, then there was probably an important thing they weren't telling him. Kval was curious, and so, he decided to satisfy his curiosity by simply asking the first person who came to mind.

"Hey Nora?"

The Valkyrie girl turned herself around with a cheerful grin. "Yes?"

He smiled. "About Professor Oobleck. Is he strict, or something?"

The energetic girl shook her head and answered his question in an instant. "He's not strict. He's just fast! _Really_ fast! He's so fast that you could-" She was unable to continue as Ren covered her mouth with his hand.

The silent ninja stared at Kval, before shaking his head. "You're lucky. I just saved you from a lot of trouble."

This prompted the young vessel to give Ren an utterly confused look. "I-Is he…really that fast?"

After a couple more minutes of walking, the group of friends finally reached their destination. And upon entering, they noticed that the professor wasn't anywhere inside the classroom, which greatly confused them.

"That's weird. He's always in class before us," Ruby said, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Professor Oobleck is probably getting his coffee. The guy needs energy to teach us, y'know," the leader of Team JNPR said as he went on to take his seat.

Time passed by, and students began to fill up the classroom. But the peaceful atmosphere did not last long, when the voice of Cardin Winchester caught some of the students' attention.

"Move it brat! That's my seat you're currently sitting on."

The tall bully was currently glaring at a student. The innocent guy was scared, obviously, and Cardin grinned at the sight. He felt powerful.

"Hurry up! Move-"

A chill ran down his spine.

"Cardin, have you forgotten what I told you before?"

Cardin slowly turned himself around, and to say that he was scared shitless was an understatement.

Kval was glaring daggers at him, tilting his head to the side as he did so. The bully started sweating all over when his eyes began to brightly glow.

"Sit somewhere else."

"B-But that's my seat!" Cardin shouted, terrified. However, he took a few steps back in fear when Kval rose up from his seat. "O-Okay okay! I get it! I'll sit somewhere else! Damn it!"

And with that, Cardin walked away, hoping that there was a free seat somewhere at the back of the classroom. He didn't dare turning around, not that he was planning to anyway, lest he wanted to die early.

The others stared at Kval in amazement. He simply sat back down with a smile, acting like nothing happened.

"W-Well…that was a thing," Yang stuttered, eyeing him. Scratched that, _everyone_ in class was eyeing him, though he did not seemed bothered by it.

That is, until a certain someone with messy green hair zipped his way inside the classroom with a small cup of coffee in his hand.

"My apologies for being late, class! Something urgent came up!"

After taking a good look at the person who had came in so suddenly with no warning whatsoever, Kval found himself feeling horrified _and_ terrified at the same time. All the memories of his past came flooding back to him like a huge tsunami.

It was painful.

And why was he here!?

"Terumi!"

Professor Oobleck was slightly startled by the sudden shouting, and was confused when Kval suddenly rose up from his seat and started shooting death glares right at him.

"What are you doing here!?" Kval shouted again, his body trembling ever so slightly.

"My boy…I have no idea what you are going on about," Professor Oobleck said to him in a very calm and professional manner. He took a quick sip of his coffee, eyeing Kval's every move just in case if anything were to happen.

"Don't play dumb with me. Because of you…"

Dark energy began engulfing Kval's entire frame, and not too long after that, three serpents came appearing right behind him.

"Snakey!" Nora called out while grinning, not fully understanding the situation.

"Kazuma, wait! He's Professor Oobleck! Don't hurt him!" Ruby yelled out. She tried holding him in place by wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, preventing him from getting any closer to Oobleck. Though it was all in vain. Kval was still able to take a step forward with ease.

"My boy, I think you're mistaking me for someone else," Professor Oobleck calmly added as he eyed the serpents. Slowly, he reached for his thermos. "Now, calm down."

"You're trying to trick me again, aren't you?" Kval growled. Though, before he could do anything, a certain cat faunus decided to slam her thick Ninjas of Love book into his head from behind, thus immediately rendering him unconscious. And thanks to her, the serpents quickly began to fade away.

Everyone looked to her in utter shock, and she simply returned the stares with an indifferent expression.

"We can't have him hurting anyone," Blake pointed out, shrugging.

 **-IIXII-**

His head hurt.

Kval couldn't help but let out a painful groan. He slowly sat himself up in the bed which he was currently on, holding the side of his head in pain soon after.

"What…happened?"

Kval slowly opened his eyes, and soon found himself staring into a pair of amber ones. In fact, the two intimidating orbs were currently glaring daggers at him.

"E-Eh?"

Kval tilted his head slightly in confusion, not minding the glare at all, before his eyes started widening in horror when everything from before suddenly came rushing back into his mind. "N-No! Where is he!?" he shouted.

"Calm down!" Blake snapped, before giving out a tired sigh. "We're in our dorm room, and you were lucky Professor Oobleck was nice enough to excuse you for the rest of the day," she explained in a calm manner. "And that includes me as well. I was ordered to watch over you in case if anything bad happens."

This prompted Kval to calm down somewhat. But even then, he couldn't help but still feel a bit uneasy about all this. Though it was understandable why. "So, he's…Professor Oobleck?"

Blake nodded in response. She eyed him for a couple of seconds, before deciding to ask him a question of her own.

"Now tell me. What happened back there?"

Kval quickly looked elsewhere, clearly trying to avoid direct eye contact. "I-I don't know what you're talking about…" he muttered.

Blake, not having none of that, immediately reached out and smacked the back of Kval's head with an annoyed expression.

"Ow!"

"You tried to kill Professor Oobleck!" she snapped once more.

All Kval could do was stare at the floor in shame.

"H-He just…triggered some bad memories. I wasn't thinking straight."

Walking up to the side of the bed, Blake lowered herself down and stared him in the eyes.

"Terumi," she said.

"Eh!?" Kval immediately faced his faunus friend with a shocked look, only to quickly avert his gaze away from her upon realising his mistake. "U-Um…well…"

Sighing, Blake smacked the back of his head once more, though this time it was not as hard as before. She probably did that on purpose.

"O-Ow…" Kval rubbed his head slightly, still looking elsewhere. "You just had to do that…"

"You're not going to tell me?" Blake asked. She grabbed a nearby chair and placed it beside the bed, then slowly sat down. "The others were really worried when I knocked you out," she murmured, earning an irritating look from her green-haired teammate.

"And whose fault was that?"

Blake narrowed her eyes. "Well then, what did you expect me to do!?"

Silence was all she received.

Then a sigh was heard.

"You really want to know?"

Blake perked up a bit at the sudden question, eyeing Kval curiously as she nodded.

"If you say so."

"I'll just stay quiet then," Blake said.

"Good. Now, remember when I told you that I was a vessel?" Blake slowly nodded, and seeing that she was paying absolute attention, Kval continued. "Then you asked me who I was created for, correct?" Blake nodded once more.

"Well, I was supposed to be a vessel for someone dangerous. And his name…was Yuuki Terumi."

Blake gasped, undoubtedly caught off-guard. "B-But what about Professor Oobleck back there!? What does he have anything to do with this Terumi person?"

"Well," Kval paused. "Professor Oobleck looks a lot like him."

Blake's jaw dropped.

"But…I guess I overreacted. Terumi was sealed away by…someone. Long ago, I guess."

Blake gulped. "W-Wow…" She then moved her gaze down at her feet. "Your past…sounds a bit rough."

Kval laughed bitterly at her little statement, which did not go unnoticed as she focused in on him again almost immediately.

"You have no idea what I've been through. Because of Terumi…I went insane…" His voice cracked, and Blake could have sworn that she had heard him wrong.

And so, she repeated for confirmation.

"I-Insane?"

Kval nodded.

"W-What happened?" Blake asked, concerned. She wanted to know more. About his past. She just has to.

"He's like a ghost, you see, and I was created specifically for him."

Blake nodded slowly, taking note of the tears forming in his eyes.

"He tricked me. Terumi was rather insane, and after inhabiting my mind for so long, I went insane myself." Kval held up his hands in front of him, silently staring at them with a tragic look in his eyes. "I did a lot of unforgivable things, Blake. I…I even killed a close friend…because of him."

Blake gasped, eyes widened in horror. "W-What…?"

"But after arriving here and meeting you guys, I'm not insane anymore. I still don't know the answer to that, however." Kval dropped his hands back down. Slowly, he turned his head to face a still shocked Blake, and offered her a pitiful and sad little smile.

And now all Blake could do was look at him.

"I-I messed up back there. It's my fault. And because of me, she died. I was a fool. Blake, please…keep this quiet…" Kval tilted his head slightly, his sad smile still present. Tears began trickling down his cheeks, but he paid it no mind. "…will you?"

Blake was speechless. She could not even comprehend what he had just told her. This innocent looking individual had actually murdered someone, and a close friend at that. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't terrified. Sure, she was a member of the White Fang in the past, but who said that she didn't regret her actions during her missions with her previous partner?

Unlike her previous partner, Blake wasn't a cold-hearted person. She knew how wrong it was to kill an innocent human.

Of course, she had gone out and kill a few before, but that was because she was forced to. Kval, on the other hand, was a different story entirely. He killed a friend due to sheer insanity, but after regaining back his sanity, he regretted his actions and was unable forgive himself. The feeling was much more devastating than how she felt when she began to realise how different the White Fang had became over the years and all the things she had done.

It…must have been painful.

Blake quickly snapped back to reality and took a good long look at Kval, who had been sobbing with his face buried in his hands for the past minute. Acting on instinct, she rose up from her chair and hugged the vessel's head to her chest, much to his surprise.

"Don't worry, Kazuma. I won't tell anyone. I promise," Blake said in a soft voice. She then started stroking his hair gently to offer him some comfort. Though in all honesty, Blake had never comforted anyone before, but she could clearly tell that it was working, albeit slowly.

Then after what felt like an eternity, Kval was finally calm enough to speak.

"T-Thank you, Blake. It means a lot to me." Kval sounded tired, but Blake could tell that he was smiling. "You're the best…" he added.

"It's alright, Kazuma," Blake whispered, smiling softly with her eyes closed. "I'll keep it quiet. I won't tell a soul."

"Y-Yeah. Um…c-could you please…l-let go of me now?"

Blake seemed puzzled. She opened one of her eyes and looked down at Kval.

"Hm?"

She could feel his face heating up at her chest, which confused her even more.

"They're…t-too soft," Kval mumbled.

And with that, Blake immediately released Kval's head and took a few steps back due to sheer embarrassment. She then started to fidget, her cheeks as bright as a tomato. "I-I um…I'm so sorry…" she mumbled out.

"I-It's okay. But I'm the one who should be sorry though." Kval scratched his cheek, looking all disappointed for some reason.

"Why should you be?" Blake found herself asking, utterly puzzled.

"Well, you missed History Class today because of me. S-So I apologise for that."

Blake silently stared at Kval for what seemed like a decade, before quickly smacking him at the back of his head for worrying over something so trivial "Let's just call it even then, since I knocked you out cold in class earlier," she said.

"H-Hey! I completely forgot about that!" Kval yelled out.

"Serves you right…" Blake rolled her eyes, but then suddenly her cheeks started becoming red as a thought crossed her mind. "W-Well…t-take that hug earlier as an apology from me then," she mumbled.

"E-Eh?" Kval went as red as a strawberry in an instant. "U-Um…i-if you say so," he mumbled, earning a nod from Blake.

"Good."

"O-Oh, and Blake?" Kval called out.

Blake slowly turned to the vessel, still blushing from earlier. "Yes?"

"W-Well…" Kval pressed his fingers together, embarrassed. "C-Can you…t-take off your bow for me? I want to see how they look like."

And boy did she light up even more after that.

"S-Shut up!"

 **-IIXII-**

 **And that's the end of Phase 9.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed it, because I prepared some Artificial Cat fluff in this Phase. Although, it was pretty short and I'm not really good at this sort of stuff. I'm also bad at writing sad things** **,** **so** **yeah.**

 **Anyway, see you guys later in Phase 10!**


	10. Phase 10

**Welcome to Phase 10 of Still Alive!**

 **My apologies for not updating. I got a damn cold, and unfortunately I still have it.**

 **By the way, I will take a 1 week break after every time I reach 10 Phases. That way,** **I can get enough rest and come up with new not so crazy ideas. Hope you guys won't mind, because I'll be taking that break after this Phase.**

 **Oh yeah, I can't believe nobody noticed that DEATH BATTLE reference at the beginning of the previous Phase. It was there, but no one noticed. Damn I'm good!**

 **Anyway, since I wrote this while I was sick, I apologi** **s** **e if this Phase seems...out of the ordinary to you readers. Though, that's probably just me.**

 **That being said, e** **njoy Phase 10!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

"I apologise for what I did, Professor Oobleck. You were right. I mistook you for someone else." Kval stepped back and bowed at the green-haired professor in a polite manner.

The Huntsman, on the other hand, just stared at him, remaining silent as he adjusted his glasses.

"I hope that you will forgive me for what I did. I truly am sorry," Kval added.

Damn. He was nervous. No wait, scratch that. He was _beyond_ nervous. He, Kazuma Kval, had just attempted to kill a professor at Beacon Academy, while the entire class was watching. And now he wanted to apologise?

 _That_ , sounded beyond ridiculous.

Though fortunately for Kval, his faunus friend, Blake, had decided to accompany him, which he was really glad for.

Kval figured that finding Professor Oobleck would be an easy task, but he had never been so wrong in his entire life. Blake and himself had been chasing the professor all day long, simply because the man had been zipping through the hallways like an unstoppable speeding train.

Sometimes, he even wondered what would happen if this man were to meet Yuuki Terumi.

Blake and Kval were lucky enough to run into the professor when they were planning on heading to the dining hall for a short break. If not, then the two would have probably ended up wasting the entire day running around in Beacon Academy.

So here they were, waiting for the professor's response to Kval's apology. The hallway was silent, and the two students were beginning to feel uncomfortable as seconds came ticking by.

That is, until Professor Oobleck took a quick sip of his coffee and finally spoke.

"Apology accepted, my dear boy."

This caught the duo off-guard. All they did in response was stare at the hyperactive professor, wide-eyed.

"W-Wait, really?" Kval asked. The fact that he was forgiven so easily surprised him greatly, and Blake was no different.

"Why, of course. I am used to death threats and such. But I must say, those green serpents which you had created earlier really took me by surprise. I have never seen anything like it," he said with a nod. Oobleck lowered his glasses a bit, taking a long look at Kval. "You are that new student, correct?" asked the professor, in which Kval nodded. "Then I guess it is alright. You are still adjusting yourself in this academy, after all. Plus, I am feeling quite generous today, so I will let you off the hook, for now," he said with a small smile.

And with that, Kval gave Oobleck a smile of his own and bowed once more, this time with gratitude. "Thank you, Professor Oobleck! I truly am grateful."

"It's not a problem." Professor Oobleck let out a chuckle. He then checked the time on his watch, and went wide-eyed. "Oh dear, I have to go now. Take good care of yourselves, you two. And also, remember to prepare for the upcoming exams!"

And so, Oobleck zipped away, thus leaving the two students alone in the hallway.

"Well, you're lucky," Blake said. She looked to Kval, a small smirk playing across her lips.

All Kval could do was scratch his head due to embarrassment, laughing as he did so. "I guess I am. Probably."

His female companion simply rolled her eyes in response. "Since classes will end in about thirty minutes or so, what should we do for the time being?"

Kval cupped his chin with his gaze upwards, deep in his own thoughts. "Well, we _could_ go to the dining hall. I'm feeling quite hungry."

Blake smiled. "Okay, but you'll have to go on without me. I forgot my scroll back in our dorm room, so I'll meet you there." She turned herself around and walked away.

Kval smiled a bit as he watched Blake walking away, then soon after that he began his small journey to the dining hall.

"Even though he looks a lot like Terumi, I'm starting to like him," Kval said to himself with a cheery expression. "And he teaches us history. My favorite subject."

Placing his hands inside his pockets, Kval began to hum a small tune as he walked, eyes closed. Though while he was walking, the sound of someone running could be heard in the distance, heading his way.

Kval slowly opened his eyes, but before he could see who it was, the person bumped into him by accident.

"S-Sorry!" he quickly said.

Taking a step back, Kval decided to take a good look at the person. It revealed that said person was a girl, whose hair was mint green in color. She had red eyes with medium brown skin, and was wearing a uniform that he did not recognize.

"No, it was my fault. I was in a hurry, and for that I didn't see where I was going," the girl apologised, smiling sheepishly.

"I didn't either, so I guess I should apologise as well," Kval said. "I honestly didn't think anyone else would be wandering around at this hour…"

The girl gave him a stare, and said, "I've never seen you before. And that uniform…" She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly. "Tell me, where are you from?"

"My name is Kazuma Kval, and I'm the new member of Team RWBY."

Her eyes widened at that. "Wait, weren't you the guy who beaten the tar out of Cardin Winchester? Y'know, the leader of Team CRDL?"

Kval nodded slowly in response, his gaze slowly moving elsewhere. "Um…yeah. Let's go with that." He _really_ did not need to remember that. It was a miracle that he did not go berserk when did all that. If he did…

Kval internally shuddered.

Noticing that she had just made him feel uncomfortable, the girl decided to introduce herself.

"I'm Emerald, by the way. Emerald Sustrai."

Emerald held out her hand with a smile.

The young vessel took her hand and gave it a firm shake, smiling. "Nice to meet you, Emerald. Though, I have something that I need to do in the dining hall. I guess I'll see you later then?"

"It was nice meeting you too, Kazuma." Emerald offered him a smile, and soon walked past him. "Later!"

But just when Emerald was about to walk further away from him, Kval suddenly found himself frozen in his spot, being unusually quiet.

"Stop," he called out.

Emerald immediately winced. She slowly turned to face him, faking a smile as she did so. "What is it?"

Kval made no effort to turn himself around. All he needed right now was to ask one simple question.

"Would you mind…giving me my silver knives back?"

Emerald winced yet again.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Quit joking around, Kazuma." Emerald laughed slightly. However, she immediately stopped herself when Kval turned his head around, and what she saw would probably give her nightmares.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, Emerald." Kval glared at her, his eyes turning to menacing slits as they faintly glowed. "You mind…giving me my silver knives back?"

Kval's glare was terrifying, and that's coming from her of all people. Assuming that something bad would happen if she didn't act fast enough, Emerald decided that handing the knives back to their rightful owner would be the best course of action.

And just like that, Kval's serious expression quickly changed to something that was much more friendlier.

"Thank you," he said.

With nothing else to say, Kval turned himself around and continued his short walk, leaving a shocked Emerald Sustrai behind him all alone.

"H-How…did he know?" she asked to no one in particular.

Emerald had never even once in her life been caught at pickpocketing _that_ easily before, so this was her very first. Not to mention that Kval had yellow eyes that could glow, which reminded her a bit of Cinder.

"Who is he?"

As of now, Emerald decided that telling Cinder all about Kval was now her top priority. But before she could think of anything else, someone's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Huh?"

Turning her head around, Emerald was then met with the sight of her partner, Mercury Black.

"What are you doing standing around here for?" he asked, smirking.

Emerald simply only rolled her eyes in response, obviously annoyed at his sudden appearance.

"Nothing that concerns you, Mercury."

 **-IIXII-**

Kval found himself staring at the entrance leading to the dining hall, but instead of smiling like usual, he seemed distracted. It was clear that something was bothering him.

"I somehow have a bad feeling about that girl from earlier. What does she want with my knives anyway? It's not like they're special or anything."

He then chuckled.

"Though, I wish they were. The guys here have all sorts of cool weapons, excluding Jaune, of course. I mean, what do I have? My knives aren't fancy, and I feel old just by using them. Oh well, at least I have my Nox Nyctores."

Figuring that he was now less bothered than before after joking with himself, Kval entered the dining hall and took a moment to scan his surroundings. He was alone, and with nothing to do, Kval decided to just sit at a random table and plant his head down onto said table, face to the side.

"I'll just forget about it for now."

He was unable to say that he was not bored out of his mind. Being alone was one of the things that could easily get to him.

"Blake…where are you?"

Figuring that Blake was not going to arrive in the next few minutes or so, Kval closed his eyes and decided to rest up in the meantime.

Ever since he started living here, Kval was used to being surrounded by his friends. It made him feel comfortable. But when he was alone, however, he would get bored quite easily.

Back in the day, he would always prefer reading instead of hanging around with his classmates. It was not that he was lazy or anything, but he just simply enjoyed indoor activities more than going outside.

Sports were not really his thing, if he was being honest with himself.

A couple of minutes went by, and still no signs of Blake.

Assuming that the silence would drive him insane at any given moment, Kval decided that it would be best to find the nearest restroom to pass the time. However, he immediately pushed the idea aside when the sound of light footsteps came reaching his ears from behind.

"Who's there?" Kval called out in a lazy manner, not even bothering to sit himself upright. This may be rude to some people, but he just could not help it.

"U-Um…Kazuma?"

Kval then found himself chuckling upon realising who it was.

"How are you doing, Velvet?"

"I'm f-fine," Velvet answered him, sounding shy like usual. She took a seat at his current table, averting her gaze away from him.

This was very unusual of her, which prompted Kval to sit up straight. He looked to her, tilting his head slightly. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" he inquired.

Velvet shook her head. "Class ended in about eight minutes ago, and I was planning on having my lunch here."

Kval smiled at that. "Me too, but I'm currently waiting for Blake. She forgot her scroll."

"I-I see. I'll just keep you company then," Velvet stammered with a nervous smile, fidgeting in her seat every few seconds with her gaze elsewhere.

The girl's behavior made him somewhat worried at this point.

"Velvet, you don't look too well. Are you doing okay?"

"H-Huh?"

One of her rabbit ears twitched.

"O-Oh, I'm fine! Nothing to worry about!" Velvet nodded with a sheepish smile. She was then surprised to receive a soft chop on the head moments later, courtesy of Kval. "Ouch!" Velvet pouted, rubbing the spot where he had hit her.

"Don't lie to me, Velvet. I can clearly tell that something is troubling you. So don't even try to hide it from me," Kval said to her in a somewhat worried manner, pulling his hand back as he did so.

Velvet's cheeks turned a slight shade of red. She immediately looked to the side and suddenly started poking her fingers together.

Kval was further confused by this, but he decided to stay silent.

"I…Kazuma. I want to tell you something."

Kval cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. "Sure, I'm listening."

And with that response, her face immediately became redder than ever. "W-Well…I…I was wondering if you…uh…" she stuttered.

Kval could not help but find her current behavior adorable. He also took note of how she had been avoiding eye contact ever since she got here.

"I-I just…y'know…"

Realising that he would definitely not be able to understand what Velvet was trying to say if she kept stuttering like that, Kval called out, "Hey Velvet?"

"Y-Yes?" She quickly looked to him with a nervous expression.

Kval chuckled with a shake of his head. "Calm down, I won't run away or anything," he said, giving the rabbit faunus an assuring smile moments later. "Now, what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh." Velvet then found herself focusing her gaze down on the table. "W-Well, I…"

Her rabbit ears were beginning to twitch once every few seconds, but Kval was kind enough to ignore them.

"I…I think…" she muttered. "I t-think I…" Velvet quickly shifted her gaze on him, slightly shaking in her seat.

Kval took note of this, and so he smiled at her as a way to encourage her to go on and say what she wanted to say. Though, he was slightly confused to see Velvet taking in a deep breath all of a sudden.

Kval was about to ask her if she needed a trip to the infirmary, but the unexpected words which came spilling out of her mouth took him completely by surprise.

"I think I like you!"

Kval found himself frozen in his seat, an expression of shock splattered across his face.

Velvet had her eyes tightly shut with her entire face red at this point, her rabbit ears twitching uncontrollably due to her earlier confession.

Awkward silence then came announcing itself.

But once he was done recovering himself from the shocking experience, Kval nervously cleared his throat and looked away.

"I…I don't know what to say…"

"I'm sorry i-if this is so sudden, Kazuma, but…I…I really like you," Velvet mumbled, feeling somewhat confident this time.

"Why…why me?" Kval asked.

Velvet turned away from him once more, twirling her hair with her finger.

"B-Because you saved me from Team CRDL the first day we met a-and…y-you're really nice," she explained. A small smile made itself known across her face. "You were the one who made Team CRDL apologise to me, were you not?"

Kval chuckled nervously, scratching his head in embarrassment. "W-Well, it was nothing really," he found himself saying, and Velvet grinned at him for that.

"You're also quite modest, Kazuma."

Kval gave the faunus a quizzical look, which made her playfully roll her eyes.

"You've always told us the nice things you've done were nothing. Don't you realise that?"

"I-I guess…you're right." Kval laughed awkwardly at this, stopping when the faunus cleared her throat. And so he decided to give Velvet his full attention, who seemed to be fidgeting in her seat once every few seconds due to sheer embarrassment, he assumed.

"Also…I find you…I find you quite attractive," she said in an extremely shy manner.

And just like that, the mood suddenly changed.

Velvet was unable to put it into words, but something just did not feel right. It bothered her to no end, but what the heck was it?

"I'm sorry…" Kval apologised, much to the girl's confusion.

"W-What?"

Kval scratched his head, smiling apologetically at that.

"I…I'm already interested in someone else."

And there it was. Her answer.

The two fell silent, unsure of what else to say.

Noticing the tension between them was growing thicker, Kval decided to break the ice.

"Velvet, are you…alright?"

She blinked once, then nodded.

At this point, Velvet did not know what to feel anymore. She wanted to cry, but she could not. She wanted to run away, but her legs would not move. She wanted to slap him in the face for rejecting her, but she was too nice to do such a thing. So in the end, all she could do was smile.

Yes.

She smiled.

"Are you…sure you're okay?" Kval asked her once more, this time sounding genuinely worried.

"I'll be fine, Kazuma."

Kval gave the cute faunus a long stare. Figuring that he had shattered her heart into a million pieces, he rose up from his seat and bowed. All he could do now was apologise.

And he did.

"I'm sorry!"

Velvet stared at Kval for a brief moment, and she was unable to help the urge to giggle at how silly he was being. "I-I'm being honest here, Kazuma. I'm not a second year student just for nothing," she said.

"Eh?" Kval lifted his head up and focused in on her. "Y-You're…really alright?"

Velvet nodded. She slowly rose up from her seat and, after walking to his side, gave Kval a tight hug. "Yes, I'm alright. Also, I hope the person who you're interested in will return your feelings," she whispered, which made her first crush blush slightly.

"Y-Yeah…" was all Kval could say in return.

Loosening her arms a bit and leaning her head back, Velvet then proceeded to kiss him softly on the cheek, making Kval blush even harder than he already was.

"That's for being my first crush," Velvet said to him with a small blush, before punching him straight in the gut. "And that's…for rejecting me," she muttered, gaze on the floor.

"O-Ow…" Kval could not deny the fact that he was in pain, but that did not stop him from smiling down at her. He slowly placed his hand on the top of her head, gaining her full attention. "Hey, even though I rejected you, that doesn't mean you're not cute. I'm sure that someone will ask you out on a date sooner or later."

Velvet blushed harder at his words. She lowered her rabbit ears and used them to cover her flushed face.

Kval chuckled. "Oh, by the way, where is everybody?" He pulled his hand back and dropped it to his side.

Kval can't really say he didn't see the disappointed look on Velvet's face a second there, that is until she smiled and answered, "W-Well, everyone in class was tired today so they all went back to their dorms to rest. Although, some went out to Vale. Y'know, being teenagers and all…"

Kval nodded at her explanation. Just then, a thought came crossing his mind.

"Well, since I'm still waiting for Blake to arrive with her scroll, you want to stay here and keep me company?"

The girl in question thought for a moment, before nodding. "I guess I'll just have lunch with you guys then. Besides, I bet that you're entire team will be here, probably with Team JNPR tagging along with them as well."

Kval released a tired sigh at that. "No wonder why Blake is being late…"

Velvet giggled in response to that. She then poked his chest in order to gain his attention, in which she did. "H-Hey Kazuma?" she called out, blushing slightly.

"Hm?" Kval smiled softly. "Yes?"

She began to fidget. "D-Do you…really think I'm cute?"

His cheeks quickly turned red in color upon receiving the sudden question. Seconds ticked by, and all he could say in return was, "Y-Yeah…you're cute."

Velvet began giggling at how adorable he looked.

"S-Stop giggling at me…"

 **-IIXII-**

 **And that's a wrap.**

 **I just hope it wasn't weird or anything. And some of you are probably going to kill me for this.**

 **Also, Kval is now** **,** **probably** **, being** **targeted by Cinder's group.** **And to be perfectly honest,** **that sounds** **a bit…** **troubling.** **Yep. Troubling.**

 **As always, thank you all so much for your support, and I hope you guys enjoyed Phase 10 of Still Alive!**

 **Well, I'll be taking that break now. I'll see you guys later!**


	11. Phase 11

**Welcome to Phase 11 of Still Alive!**

 **Yes, that's right. This story is...Still Alive!**

 **Hehe...my bad.**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for the support guys! I might have rusted a bit since I took a whole week off. And hey, I know this is late, but I just wrote a thing for Halloween. Yeah...I forgot to mention it to you guys.**

 **So if you guys want to read that silly story, then be my guess.**

 **Now, on with the story!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **Why bother? I don't even own this laptop which I'm currently using.**

* * *

Another day had gone by, and Team RWBY were finally beginning to feel comfortable around their new teammate. Right now classes were over, so resting was obviously the best thing to do for the moment.

But unfortunately for Blake, however, she couldn't.

"You're a good boy, Zwei!" Ruby rubbed the dog's belly with a cheery expression, while Yang smiled at the sight. Weiss was studying, as usual, and Blake was on the top of her bunk bed while glaring daggers at the corgi, her expression showing nothing but disgust as the dog barked a couple of times.

Kval on the other hand, was reading a book which Blake had lent him. The different thing about him currently was that he's wearing the clothes which Weiss had bought for him.

And the boy was right, the sweater was indeed comfortable.

"Come on Blake, he won't bite!" Yang called out to her partner, but was silenced immediately when a sharp glare was sent her way. "O-Okay. I'll just take that as a no."

"Done," Kval said suddenly. His teammates looked to him in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head, gaining the vessel's undivided attention.

Kval smiled. "I was taking about this book."

Blake stared at him in utter shock, wide-eyed. "Kazuma, that book had three hundred and forty-seven pages, and you've only been reading it for three hours. How is that possible?"

Kval simply shrugged in response to that, but the stares they gave him were too much for him to handle. "D-Don't stare at me like that…" He pulled down his hood in order to hide his face from their eyes. "I like reading."

Team RWBY blushed at the sight. Was Kval always this adorable when he's embarrassed?

"A-Anyway, thanks for lending me your book, Blake. It was really nice of you." Kval gave the faunus a shy smile, and proceeded to place the book back on the bookshelf. "It was an interesting story, by the way."

"No problem, Kazuma. Feel free to borrow another one if you'd like," Blake said to him with a genuine smile. "And yes, the plot was indeed interesting. It's one of my favorites, actually."

Yang watched the two from where she was, and a mischievous grin crept across her face. "Blake, you're not corrupting him with your books now, are you?"

The cat faunus gave Yang a death glare in response to what she said, while her cheeks turned red. "No, I'm not," she said through gritted teeth.

"Enough with the teasing, Yang. I'm studying here." Weiss closed her book with a huff. "If you don't want to study, then the least you could do is be quiet."

Yang grinned. "Teasing is my thing, Ice Queen."

Weiss groaned.

Kval looked to Team RWBY, as a small smile graced his lips. It's only been a few days, and he was already enjoying their antics. "Come on Yang, she's studying," he said, "Why don't you do something else instead?"

Yang turned to Kval, who was in the middle of choosing another book to read. She couldn't resist the urge to blush at how adorable he looked in his new sweater.

Just then, a thought entered the blonde's mind.

"So…you want to be teased instead?"

"E-Eh!? N-No!" Kval stopped what he was doing and turned to Yang. The busty blonde winked, which effectively made him blush like there's no tomorrow.

"But I have to say, you look rather cute in that new sweater." Yang cupped her chin and squinted her eyes to get a better look, grinning. "Hehe…"

Kval pulled his hood further down to hide his face. "P-Please stop it…" he begged.

Each and every one of the girls in the room blushed at the sight, and were soon rendered speechless at the cuteness.

The poor boy turned around in order to resume finding another book to read. He attempted to ignore the stares they were giving him, but it was pretty hard in his case.

"Cute…"

The word left Ruby's lips before she could even register it, and she was soon trapped in her older sister's headlock, much to her surprise and annoyance.

"See!? Even my little sister thinks your cute!" Yang exclaimed.

Upon hearing that, Kval was immediately frozen in his spot.

"Yang!" the younger of the two siblings hissed, blushing madly. She attempted to release herself from her sister's headlock, to no avail. "Let me go!"

"How about you two?" Yang turned her attention to Weiss and Blake with a wide grin, all the while keeping Ruby in place.

"W-Well…I guess he does look…somewhat cute," Weiss stammered. She then quickly buried her nose deep within her notebook, a pitiful attempt to hide the blush on her cheeks from her teammates.

"For once, I agree with Yang," Blake moved her gaze away from Kval, faking a cough as a bright blush took over her cheeks. "Just so you guys know, I'm being honest with myself."

"I am not cute…" Kval buried his face in his hands, before whirling himself around in order to face the dastardly person who started this whole thing in the first place. "S-Stop with the teasing already! I'm dying here!"

Yang laughed at him, but was then caught off-guard when Ruby escaped her headlock. "H-Hey! Get back here!" she called out.

Ruby zipped her way to the top of her bunk bed, and proceeded to stick out her tongue out Yang. "Make me!"

"You're no fun." Yang pouted.

Kval sighed in relief, as he was glad that the teasing had finally stopped.

Upon finding a book which caught his interest, Kval grabbed it from the bookshelf and turned himself around to ask Blake if he could borrow it. However, the sight of the faunus girl whispering something into Weiss' ear made him frown. Lately, Team RWBY had been acting a bit odd around him, and he was really starting to worry.

"Hey Blake?" Kval called out.

Blake turned her attention towards Kval, tilting her head slightly. "Yes?"

The young vessel held up the book which he was holding with a small grin, and soon received a smile from the faunus.

Blake nodded. "Yes, you can borrow it."

"Thanks." Kval made his way to his bed in order to read his new book, but the sound of knocking which came from the door made him stop.

Team RWBY and Kval gave one another confused looks, unsure of who the person outside might be.

"I'll get it." Kval set the book down on his bed and made his way towards the door, all the while wondering who the person outside might be.

Kval didn't know what to expect. The moment he reached for the door knob, the door was immediately kicked open from the outside, which ended up with him being knocked to the ground.

The person outside must've been _really_ impatient.

"Alright! Where's that green-haired moron!?"

Looking up, Kval was met with the sight of a girl wearing a pair of sunglasses which covered her eyes. She looked slightly older than any of the members of Team RWBY, and for some odd reason, the black beret on her head made her look intimidating.

"Coco? What do you want?" Yang narrowed her eyes at the newcomer, not at all minding the door being kicked open.

Ruby quickly went to her sister's side and folded her arms, head held high. "Yeah! State your business!"

"I'm looking for that idiotic green-haired twerp of yours. Have you seen him?" Coco asked, but the weird looks they gave her made her eyes narrow. "Well?"

"W-What could you possibly want with me?"

Coco moved her head down with an eyebrow raised, and her expression quickly turned sour when Kval entered her vision.

"I don't think we've met, actually," Kval said with a tilt of his head. He got himself up to his feet, not taking note of the tight grip Coco had around her handbag. The girl was being unusually quiet, and it honestly made him worry. "Hey…uh…are you okay?"

Kval could've suffered a critical injury along with a few broken bones, if he had not evaded the attack Coco gave him with her ridiculously heavy handbag.

"H-Hey! What are you doing!?" The young vessel was in a mixture of pure shock and panic as he evaded yet another attack. The others in the room were no different, as they stared at the scene with their eyes wide opened.

"Killing you, of course! Now stop moving so I could break your bones!" Coco proceeded to swing her handbag down in an attempt to crack Kval's skull, but he successfully avoided the attack and planted his foot down onto the heavy item, keeping it in place.

Coco was quite surprised at how agile and powerful he was. Hell, she was actually _struggling_ to lift her handbag back up, all thanks to his foot. Coco had to admit, she pretty much underestimated him.

"Despite your looks, you're pretty good," Coco muttered. Without warning, she released her grip around her handbag and threw a punch at Kval's face.

Kval saw this, however, and simply dodged the punch before grabbing her by the arm, much to the girl's shock. And with that, he pushed her down onto the floor. Taking the chance, he turned to Team RWBY and called out, "Guys! Hold her down!"

The four girls, who had been watching the two going at it from the very beginning, wasted no time in throwing themselves on top of Coco.

Yang held Coco down with a headlock, and judging by the wide grin which was plastered across her face, it was clear that she's enjoying herself. Ruby and Weiss were holding her arms, but it was hard to keep them in place simply because Coco was a lot more stronger than the two of them combined. Blake, on the other hand, was busy wrapping Gambol Shroud's black ribbon around the girl's legs.

"Let go of me!" Coco yelled out in rage. Her sunglasses no longer covered her eyes, which revealed her dark brown orbs.

"And let you kill our friend?" Yang's gaze went upwards, looking as if she was thinking. Seconds flew by, and her answer was a simple "Nope!"

The blonde received a growl for that one.

"You're next in line when I'm done with him!" Coco yelled out. She then focused her gaze on Kval, and glared at him. "And you. I'm going to enjoy breaking your bones. Each…and every…one of them," she hissed, each and every word laced with venom.

"B-But what did I ever do to you!? I don't even know you!" Kval said.

The girl's glare hardened. "Then let me explain, you prick!" She huffed. "The name's Coco Adel, and I'm a second year student here in Beacon Academy. I'm also the leader of Team CFVY. Ring any bells?"

Kval shook his head.

"How about Velvet!? Does that name ring any bells!?" Coco snapped at him.

"I…uh…you're her…team leader?" Kval asked somewhat nervously once he was done connecting the dots.

"Of course I am, you idiot!"

"Okay, just what on Remnant is going on here!?" Weiss exclaimed, "I don't understand a single thing!"

Yang rolled her eyes. "You're not the only one."

Kval went silent for a few seconds, before a small sigh escaped his lips.

"Let her go."

Team RWBY, and even Coco, looked to Kval as if he was crazy.

Ruby furrowed her brows. "W-What?"

"H-Hey, I can't promise you that this raging beast won't rip you to shreds the second I let her go," Yang warned with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I wouldn't even mind if she rips my arm off," Kval said with a small chuckle, much to their shock.

"A-Are you sure?" Blake looked to him, unsure.

Kval shrugged. "Yeah. I deserve it, anyway."

Those words surprised Coco, and all she could do was stare at him, wide-eyed. "Are you…serious?"

He smiled, but remained silent.

Team RWBY gave each other worried looks, and proceeded to release their hold on Coco.

The brunette slowly went up to her feet and picked up her sunglasses from the floor, sweat rolling down her forehead. "I…can't say I was expecting this," she muttered, "But I'm still gonna kick your sorry ass for rejecting her."

"What!?"

Coco and Kval winced at Team RWBY's high level of volume, as they stared at the two in utter shock.

"Okay you little snake, what happened!?" Yang grabbed Kval's shoulders and began to shake him back and forth, eager to know what this was all about.

"Y-Yeah! What happened!?" Ruby was practically jumping around Kval and her sister, eager to know as well.

"Oh I'll tell you what happened!" Coco growled, catching everyone's attention. "That little shit right there-"

"Rejected me."

The members of Team RWBY gasped at that, obviously shocked.

Coco paled slightly upon recognizing the voice. Slowly, she turned her head to the door, and was paled further when she saw who it was.

The one who stood in the doorway was none other than Velvet Scarlatina in all her glory, and the look on her face clearly told them that she was in a _very_ sour mood.

"Coco, just what in the world are you doing?" asked the rabbit faunus, eyes never leaving her leader's.

"Well…you see…" Coco stopped herself when a sigh was heard from Velvet.

"I don't want to hear it, Coco. You said that you were going to eat in the dining hall, and I was beginning to wonder why you decided to bring your handbag…" Velvet lifted up Coco's handbag from the floor, and proceeded to walk her way towards her leader, frowning. "We're leaving."

"B-But-" Grabbing the brunette by the arm, Velvet then began to drag her away from Team RWBY. "I haven't kicked his sorry ass yet!" Coco protested.

"What did I tell you…about hurting him?" Velvet muttered.

"He's an ass!" Coco exclaimed.

Right eye twitching, Velvet whirled herself around and glared at Coco. "He is _not_!" she yelled. Once she was done dragging her rebellious team leader out the door, Velvet turned her head in order to smile at Team RWBY. "I'm really sorry for the inconvenience." Her gaze then landed on Kval. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble, Kazuma."

"N-Not at all…hehe…" Kval scratched his cheek somewhat sheepishly, before taking note of the small blush visible on Velvet's cheeks. "Is something wrong?"

"Y-You…look really adorable in that sweater," Velvet mumbled with a shy smile.

Coco just stared at the scene in complete anger, and if looks could kill, then Kval would probably be dead by now.

The young vessel blushed as well, scratching his cheek with his eyes downcast. However, before he could say anything in return, the rabbit faunus chose that particular moment to run away in embarrassment, dragging her leader in the process.

"He needs to get his ass kicked!" Coco shouted in pure rage while being dragged down the hallway.

Kval winced at the threat. "She reminds me of Nine…somewhat." He gave a nervous laugh, but the feeling of something poking at the back of his head made him stop. "Huh?" He turned around, and was met with the sight of Yang grinning mischievously at him. He also took note of the others, who seemed to be eyeing him with their arms folded.

Silence filled the air.

"I guess…you guys want to know what happened between Velvet and I?" Kval said, and was caught off-guard when Yang caught him in a headlock. "Gah!"

"Of course! Don't think you can escape from us!" Yang exclaimed, her grin growing wider.

Kval sighed, but then a small smile graced his lips. "Yeah…I'll tell you guys what happened." He looked to the blonde from the corner of his eyes, and said, "But before that, can you please let me go?"

Yang winked. "Nope!"

"Yang!"

* * *

 **That's a wrap for Phase 11!**

 **I still can't believe I made it this far. It's all thanks to you guys!**

 **And rusted or not, it won't stop me from writing!**

 **There's this book...uh...100 Ways To Motivate Yourself. Says that if you got the deadly writers block disease, the only way to cure yourself is to just keep on writing, no matter how awful or bad it is. Really good book. I just read it when I'm bored or trying to kill time. It helps.**

 **As always, thank you so much for the support. It means quite a lot.**

 **Anyway, I'll see you guys again in Phase 12! Peace out!**


	12. Phase 12

**Welcome to Phase 12 of Still Alive!**

 **I ain't got much to say really, other than thanking you guys for your continued support throughout this whole story.**

 **My sincere apologies for the late update. I've decided that...I'll be posting the future Phases whenever I can, because life has been hectic for me lately. Besides, this way I could come up with more not so crazy ideas!**

 **Anyway, on with the story!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

"And that's what happened between Velvet and I."

Kval sighed. The boy was glad that he was finally done with explaining the whole confession thing to his teammates, but the part where he had told Velvet that he was interested in someone else was left unsaid. He trusted Team RWBY, truly he did, but he couldn't afford to risk them asking him more complicated questions. He was just too tired for that, at least for the time being.

"So let me get this straight," Yang began, "She came to you, confessed, and you _rejected_ her?"

Kval nervously laughed at that. "Pretty much."

"This…is a lot to take in. I didn't expect someone like you would reject love from a girl, Velvet at that," the heiress said with a small frown.

Blake glared at Kval, and soon questioned, "Is it because she's a faunus?"

The question caught everyone's attention, but the green-haired vessel can be seen smiling to himself, for reasons unknown.

"Don't get me wrong, but her rabbit ears are pretty cute," Kval told her.

Blake was totally caught off-guard upon receiving the boy's answer. Then for whatever reason, her cheeks suddenly turned bright red, and all she could say at that moment was, "I-I see…"

"Is there a reason?" Ruby asked all of a sudden.

"Reason?" Kval tilted his head to the side, confused.

"Why did you reject her?" the little reaper asked once more, eyeing him.

Kval began sweating all over when Team RWBY kept staring at him. He had hoped that none of them would go so far as to ask _that_ question, but fate liked to toy with him nowadays, so there's that.

Yang took a step forward and grinned. "Spill it."

Kval was beginning to think the room wasn't safe anymore, and it was soon proven true when he saw Ruby locking the door, which was basically his one and only ticket out of here. Weiss and Blake were no different, as they stood at Yang's sides with their arms crossed, eyeing him.

The air grew tense. Team RWBY and Kval stared each other down, but Yang was quickly defeated when the young vessel narrowed his eyes with a shake of his head.

"Come on Kazuma! You have to tell us!" begged the blonde.

"No," Kval told them, "I will not tell you my reason, and that's final."

"Well, if you won't tell us…" Yang trailed off. She took another step forward with a mischievous grin.

That was a big mistake, however.

Everyone jumped slightly when a large green serpent appeared out of nowhere, before it took its spot right in front of Kval in order to act as a barrier.

"H-Hey! I was joking!" Yang glared at Kval and took a few steps back, but was confused to see him laughing at her. She took note of the smile on the serpent's face as it slowly faded away, which did nothing but confuse her even further. "W-What? Why are you laughing?"

"Haha! You should have seen the look on your face!" Kval laughed.

Seeing this, Yang crossed her arms and looked to the side with a huff. "You're a jerk."

Recovering from his laughing fit, Kval replied, "N-Not my fault."

All of a sudden, Ruby zipped her way to Kval's front, grinning excitedly. "So you'll tell us!?"

The girl received a chop on the head for that one. She frowned, and proceeded to rub the spot where Kval had hit her, grumbling something under her breath while doing so.

"No, I won't," Kval answered. "My answer will not change, Ruby."

Ruby smirked. She pointed at Kval, and being the team leader, she _ordered_ , "Kazuma, as your team leader, I order you to tell us your reason for rejecting Velvet this instant!"

Kval squinted his eyes at that.

"Nice one Ruby!" Yang smiled proudly at her younger sibling. She then focused her gaze on Kval, grinning excitedly. "Come on, you heard the leader."

Silence filled the air.

"No," Kval responded with a blank expression, much to everyone's shock.

Ruby stared at Kval, her mouth hung open. "Y-You just…you just disobeyed a direct order!" she yelled, and soon began flailing her arms around in a cute manner. "That's not fair!"

Kval chuckled. "This is not a life and death situation, Ruby. And besides, I'm not an _official_ member of Team RWBY, so there's that."

Yang's eyes flickered to red. She glared at Kval, and yelled, "Kazuma! Tell us or I _will_ turn this into a life and death situation!"

"W-Why is this suddenly so important to you?" Kval held up his hands, smiling nervously. "Yang, listen to me. Violence is never the answer." A nervous chuckle left his lips, and he took a few steps back. "I don't think-"

"Violence _will_ be the answer if you don't explain your reason in ten seconds," Yang said to Kval with a small grin, and she wasn't joking.

"U-Uh…" Kval stuttered, sweating all over. "Y-You're joking, right?"

Pitying Kval, Ruby then made her way to his side and proceeded to whisper into his ear, "Yang's not going to beat you up. She's just going to give you another headlock."

"O-Oh, I see…" Kval released a small sigh of relief at that, prompting the blonde to glare at her little sister.

"Ruby!"

"Sorry!" Ruby scratched the back of her head with a sheepish grin, laughing nervously. "I just couldn't help it."

"Way to go ruining my plan…" Yang grumbled.

"I'm having enough of this. Rather than wasting my precious time, I'm better off studying," Weiss huffed. And with that, she went back to her desk, not wanting to involve herself with any of them.

"B-But Ice Queen!"

The heiress turned to Yang with a sharp glare. "Don't call me that, you brute! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some studying to do!"

Yang balled up her hands into fists, teeth gritting. She whirled around in order to face a certain vessel, and yelled out, "Kazuma, telling us your reason won't make you go insane again or anything! I mean, come on-"

The room immediately went silent.

Blake, Weiss and Ruby stared at Yang in utter shock. The blonde quickly covered her mouth with both hands upon realizing her mistake, and her eyes widened in horror.

Things stayed that way.

For a few seconds, that is.

"What…did you say?" Kval inquired. He kept his gaze locked onto the floor, not meeting their eyes.

"I-I mean you won't go…uh…insane or anything…uh…hehe…" Yang stuttered, her eyes changing back to their original lilac color. But not long after that, the nervous expression on her face was immediately replaced with the look of utter fear and terror.

Kval glared menacingly at Yang, only to turn and focus his gaze on Blake moments later.

Upon noticing this, Blake shook her head, albeit nervously. "I-It's not what you think."

"I trusted you, y'know," Kval muttered. His eyes turned to slits, which made a chill run down Blake's spine. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Kazuma, I-I can explain. Just calm down and listen." Blake approached him, and it took a second for her to notice the faint green energy around the vessel's body. "Please, just listen to me!" She moved in closer, and had no other choice but to stop when five green serpents appeared all around Kval.

"I've had enough of your lies…" Kval muttered under his breath.

"Kazuma, we're your friends. The least you could do is hear us out," Weiss told him.

The serpents opened their jaws wide, revealing their sharp fangs. "No…"

"W-Whoa hey! S-Stand down!" Ruby yelled out in panic. She then zipped her way to the top of her bunk bed, hugging Zwei tightly in her arms. "Let's not get into fights!"

Yang immediately went into a combat stance and cautiously eyed the serpents. If only she had Ember Celica. "Kazuma, just like you told me, violence is never the answer. Now, calm down before anyone gets hurt," she said to him, eyes narrowing.

"Who said anything about violence?" Kval told the blonde with a cold voice.

 **-IIXII-**

"Ren, mind explaining to me why Coco was being a bit too loud outside our door earlier?" Jaune asked his silent teammate, rubbing his tired eyes soon after that. "I was trying to sleep…"

Ren shrugged in response. "Well, I think you should go and ask Team RWBY about that." He looked down at his childhood friend, and soon a small smile formed itself onto his lips. "I'm not surprised that Nora didn't jump out of her bed the moment Coco started shouting. She's always been a heavy sleeper."

"Wait, where's Pyrrha?" Jaune scanned his surroundings upon realizing that his partner was nowhere inside their room, confused.

"She said she wanted to get some fresh air," Ren explained. Figuring that a shower was needed, he grabbed his towel and made his way to their bathroom.

Jaune can't help but chuckle at that. "Well then, I guess we should-" He stopped himself when the sound of what seemed to be a door being broken down was heard, which came from right outside their door. "What…was that?"

Ren stared at their door, and proceeded to give Jaune a blank look.

Despite the loud noise, Nora _still_ managed to sleep peacefully in her bed. Though, no surprises there. If a Beowolf were to burst through their door at this very moment, she'd probably kill the poor thing while sleeping.

"Uh…I'll go and check it out," Jaune told Ren, who nodded shortly after.

 **-IIXII-**

"He…ran off," Ruby muttered. She stared at what seemed to be the remains of their door, all scattered across the hallway.

Yang sighed. "That…was unexpected." She clicked her tongue and scratched the back of her head. She took note of the stares which came from her teammates, and her only reaction was to raise a single eyebrow. "What?"

"This is all your fault! If only you'd stop asking what we were up to, then none of this would have ever happened!" Blake shouted at the top of her lungs. She released a heavy sigh at that, but that did nothing to stop her from giving the blonde a heated glare.

"Blake is right, Yang. You always force people to get what you want," Ruby sided with Blake, looking all nervous.

"Not helping…" Yang grumbled.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "This is like The Blake Incident all over again…"

"Hey!" Blake glared daggers at the heiress.

Weiss held up her free hand, smiling slightly. "It's okay. I still forgive you."

"Forget that! We need to find Kazuma!" the scythe wielder announced confidently, only to scratch the back of her head moments later, looking sheepish. "And…we're probably going to need a new door."

"Whoa! What the heck happened out here!?" Jaune exclaimed from the hallway, eyes widened in shock. "Was there a loose Grimm or something?"

Zipping her way out the door, Ruby greeted Jaune with a nervous smile and said, "H-Hey Jaune! Mind keeping this quiet for the time being?"

The blond boy gave her a confused stare, but nodded anyway. "Okay…I guess?"

Ruby grinned. "Great!"

With this, Ruby zipped her way back inside, leaving a confused Jaune Arc standing right in the middle of the hallway. He stared at Team RWBY's doorway for a moment, before shrugging.

"I guess they have everything under control."

Inside Team RWBY's room, Blake can be seen arguing with her partner. For obvious reasons, Yang didn't seem to be enjoying any of this, and if it weren't for Ruby, then a full-blown fight would've probably happened by now.

"Okay! Guys! Please stop fighting!"

"This…is all your fault," Blake hissed.

"I know I'm at fault! So I'm sorry, alright!?" Yang yelled in response, her eyes flickering to red.

"Alright, you two! Enough with the fighting!" Ruby went in and stood between Yang and Blake, unsure of what to do. "We can't solve anything like this!"

Figuring that the situation was getting more and more worse, Weiss decided to clear her throat in order to get everyone's attention, and said, "Listen you two, I know that this argument is something that needs to be settled immediately, but I'm sure it can be settled later! Because right now, we have a teammate to find! Official or not!"

Ruby, Blake, and Yang stared at the heiress for a brief moment, before nodding in agreement.

"She's right. Now as team leader, I want us to split up into two groups. Two people will stay here and…well…take care of things, while the other two will search for Kazuma," Ruby announced, arms folded.

"I'll stay. I don't think I can face him after what I said." Yang scratched the back of her neck, eyes downcast. "I better start thinking of a way to apologize…"

Weiss looked over at Yang, then to her partner. "I'll be informing Professor Goodwitch of our…broken door. So I'll stay with Yang."

"I guess it's just me and Blake then!" Ruby grinned to herself. Using her Semblance, she zipped her way to their bathroom in order to get herself changed into her combat skirt, leaving her teammates to their own devices.

"We are going to have a serious talk, Yang. You better apologize to him when we get back," Blake reminded, eyes narrowing.

Yang looked away. "Don't remind me…"

 **-IIXII-**

"I can't believe this…" Kval grumbled as he walked in the streets of Vale, all alone.

That being said, upon arriving in Vale by using one of those Bullheads just moments ago, realization had dawned on him. He had nowhere to go. So with no plans or destination whatsoever in mind, Kval decided to just walk around in the streets, grumbling to himself every now and then.

"I trusted her…and she…" Kval sighed. "Just…why?" He looked to the sky above, but try as he might, he was unable to come up with an answer to why she did it.

Kval felt betrayed, but even then, he could not find it in himself to hate her, or any of them. Besides, they were going to find out the truth about him eventually, and now that he thought about it, running away was childish.

He gave a humorless chuckle. "I guess running away…was a stupid move, even for someone like me. W-Wait a minute," He looked around, confused. "where am I?"

Apparently, the young vessel had been so preoccupied with his inner thoughts that he failed to notice his surroundings. That being said, he must've entered this alley at some point.

"Great. Now I'm lost," Kval muttered, but before he could say anything else, something, or rather _someone_ , bumped into him by accident. He was surprised really, because it's not common to bump into another person when you're in an alley.

"S-Sorry!" Kval apologized. He took a couple of steps back and looked to the person who had just bumped into him, only to lift his eyebrows a bit when the person entered his line of sight.

The person was, in fact, a girl. She had short, rather curly orange hair and wore a pink bow at the back of her head. Kval also took note of her bright green eyes, and she was wearing what seemed to be an old fashioned blouse with short feminine overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. Speaking of which, the green lines on her stockings seemed to glow faintly, which caught the vessel's full attention almost immediately.

"No worries Mister!" the girl told him with a cheerful smile, but the way she spoke seemed a tad bit weird to him. "Since I was not looking where I was going and ended up bumping into you by accident…are _you_ okay?" She leaned her face into his, unintentionally invading the young vessel's personal space.

Feeling uncomfortable, Kval backed away a bit and smiled an awkward smile, unsure of what to do.

"Um…uh…"

 **-IIXII-**

 **And that's over for this Phase!**

 **Dust damn it. I've rusted a lot, haven't I?**

 **Guessing my Muse Bar is extremely low. I'll update the next Phase in like let's say...a year. Haha! I'm just joking!**

 **Anyway, as always, thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed Phase 12 of Still Alive!**

 **See you guys again later in Phase 13!**


	13. Phase 13

**Welcome to Phase 13 of Still Alive!**

 **Yeah, that's right! I'm Still Alive and kicking butts and...**

 **Oh who am I kidding?**

 **Anyway, I apologize for the late update. I was honestly running out of ideas...but that won't stop me from writing! This story is done when I say it's done!**

 **I want to thank each and every one of you readers for...well, reading. What else? That being said, my special thanks goes to you. Yes that's right, I'm talking to you, SpecialMonitor22!**

 **Now, enough with my blabbering and crap! Time to read!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

In all honesty, Kval never knew people could take weirdness on a whole new level before. Heck, that being said, the girl who was walking right beside him was a lot more weirder than _himself_ , and that's saying something.

After assuring the strange girl that no harm was done when she had accidentally bumped into him, Kval quickly took note of the fact that she was all by herself. Alone.

Just like himself.

So being the kindhearted person he was, Kval wasted no time in asking her if she wanted company. The strange girl didn't seem to hesitate when she accepted his offer, which surprised him. However, he was even _more_ surprised when she revealed that she was actually lost herself, the same as him.

So here they were, walking in the streets side by side with smiles on their faces.

"So uh…my name is Kazuma Kval. It's nice to meet you." He offered the girl a small smile. "What's yours?"

Turning so that she was facing her male companion, the strange girl proceeded to grin widely, before happily exclaiming, "My name is Penny Polendina! It is a pleasure to meet you too!"

"Ah," Kval nodded. "of course."

"Where are you from?" Penny asked all of a sudden. She then invaded Kval's personal space by leaning her face into his, prompting the boy to lean his head back.

"Penny, y-you're too close…" Kval gulped, and later sighed in relief when Penny backed away, grinning while she was at it. "Thank you. As for your question, I'm from Beacon Academy." He took note of her staring at him in awe, and he merely lifted his eyebrows a bit in response. "What?"

"That…is…amazing!" Penny exclaimed, hands held up high.

"Is it really that great?" Kval inquired, earning a nod from Penny shortly after.

"Yeah! That being said, I have a friend who is in Beacon Academy! Well, my first friend, actually. She's really nice if you get to know her!" Penny told him, grinning widely.

Kval stared at her. "You have a friend in Beacon Academy?"

The strange girl gave Kval another nod, before the happy expression on her face changed to one of curiosity. "Do _you_ have friends?" she asked.

His fingers twitched.

"Friends, huh?" Kval muttered, "A few."

Penny tilted her head to one side, frowning a bit. "Did something happened?"

"You could say that…" He closed his eyes, only to open them once more when his companion started poking at his arm. And he was unable to stop himself from jumping when Penny entered his line of sight, whose face was just mere inches away from his own. "P-Penny!?"

"I can see that you are lying," Penny said to him, catching the vessel by surprise.

Kval gazed to the side. "Y-You can tell?"

"Of course I can. Do you want to talk about it?" Penny frowned, and soon started poking at his arm once more with a bright smile. "I'm all ears, friend."

Penny's bright smile was highly contagious, and Kval was unable to resist himself from smiling as well. And upon realizing that he literally had nothing better to do other than following this strange girl around, Kval chuckled and finally came to a decision.

"Well, if you're really _that_ interested…"

 **-IIXII-**

"Kazuma! Where are you!?" Ruby called out, only for her to frown a bit when she received no answer. Blake can be seen following closely behind her, who, judging by the look on her face, was obviously preoccupied with her own thoughts.

Blake can't help but feel guilty for all of this, despite it not being her fault in the first place. In truth, she wasn't even sure if she was able to face him. The cold look which he had given them was still fresh in her mind, and that alone was more than enough to make her legs tremble. Hell, she should have just stayed in Beacon, rather than being out here searching for him.

Blake was seriously going to hurt Yang if they were to return back to Beacon empty-handed.

Not that she wouldn't even if they did find him anyway.

"Huh?" Blake blinked a couple of times when Ruby suddenly stopped, which ended up with her bumping into the younger girl's back. She narrowed her eyes at this, and called out, "Ruby, why did you stop?"

To Blake's surprise, Ruby didn't answer. From what she could tell, the girl seemed to be busy staring into empty space, and that honestly made her worry.

"Ruby?" Blake called out once more, and later waved her hand in front of the younger girl's face when no response came.

Ruby blinked, and upon noticing the worried expression which was displayed across Blake's face, she quickly exclaimed, "I-I'm alright!"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I was just…thinking," Ruby explained, scratching her head shortly after that. "About stuff, y'know."

Blake eyed her for a moment, before suggesting, "Well, we can take a short break if you're tired."

Ruby shook her head at the suggestion, eyes downcast. "It's not that. I'm just…worried about him," she muttered, twiddling her thumbs nervously.

"Ruby," Blake folded her arms. "he can take care of himself if he's lost."

"Y-Yeah…I-I guess he could…take care of himself," Ruby agreed, albeit reluctantly. She grinned a sheepish grin, and started scratching the back of her head soon after that for unknown reasons. "I'm probably just worrying too much."

Worried of what's currently troubling Ruby's mind, Blake took a few steps forward and landed a hand on the girl's shoulder. She frowned, then questioned, "Ruby, is something troubling you? Because you seem a bit…off, lately."

"I'm fine." Ruby smiled in order to convince her worried teammate, only to fail miserably once she realized that this was Blake she was talking to. "Hehe…"

Blake continued to stare at the younger girl with her amber eyes, and soon stated, "Ruby, I know something is bothering you. It's as clear as the light of day. Now tell me."

Ruby began to fidget with her gaze locked onto a nearby street lamp, avoiding Blake's eyes. "I just…w-what if he doesn't come back? I mean, you saw how he acted earlier." She looked to the ground at that, but was then confused when a cute giggle escaped Blake's lips. "W-What?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "It's nothing. You just like him, that's all." She grinned upon seeing the sight of her leader's shocked expression, whose cheeks turned red seconds later.

"T-That's not true! W-Well…of course I like him…but not like _that_!" Ruby exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Blake smirked. "Well I didn't say that, now did I?"

"U-Uh…um…" Ruby could feel her cheeks heating up even more at the comment, so in order to end it at that, she quickly decided to change the subject. "A-Anyway! W-We still need to find him! S-So come on!" she stammered.

"If you say so." Blake rolled her eyes and nodded, smirking to herself. "Yang will definitely need to hear this. After I'm done with her anyway." She giggled, and it took her two full seconds to notice the horrified look Ruby was making. Her only reaction was to raise a single eyebrow, and later asked, "Something wrong?"

"Please don't tell Yang! The teasing would never stop if you do!" Ruby pleaded, before her eyes widened. "O-Or worse! Yang might hurt him!"

"Alright then, I won't. Besides, even if she knew and would end up wanting to hurt Kazuma, I'll be there to protect him." Blake chuckled. "That being said, I don't think Yang is brave enough to face him at the moment…"

"Thanks Blake." Ruby smiled slightly, before it faded away as her eyes narrowed. "And Yang is a bad influence…"

"I heard that," Blake called out.

Ruby flinched, before mumbling out an apology.

 **-IIXII-**

"That is just terrible!" Penny exclaimed when Kval was done with his story despite the lack of names being mentioned, not that it bothered her too much. But still, his friends sounded terrible. "You have really terrible friends." She shook her head, only to see her companion flinch at her words.

"They…aren't _that_ bad. Not really," Kval explained. "To be honest, I think _I_ am the one who's being terrible, not them."

Penny cocked an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean, Kazuma?" she asked.

"Well, I ran away without even giving them a chance to explain themselves," Kval explained, frowning a bit. "I mean, I know I felt hurt and betrayed but…I should have thought twice before running off like that."

Penny stared at him, before grinning all of a sudden. "But if you hadn't ran away, then you wouldn't have found me in that alley earlier in the first place," she pointed out with a tilt of her head, eyes closing.

Kval took the time to process what Penny had just told him, and soon chuckled at the thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right. When you put it like that, it doesn't sound so bad. Thanks for cheering me up, Penny."

Penny nodded her head, and resumed her walking.

"But mind if I ask you two things, Kazuma?" Penny asked, earning a nod from the boy not long after that. She looked to him, and smiled. "Can I call you Kval instead?"

"Sure. In fact, I'd prefer more if people would call me that." Kval shrugged.

"Okay then!" Penny exclaimed. Then, without warning, she proceeded to intently gaze at her companion, which made him feel nervous. "Now, time for my second question. When you explained to me about what happened earlier…I can't help but notice you saying that you were…not a real boy. Am I correct?"

Kval froze at that, wide-eyed. "I…I forgot to leave out that little detail. I'm such a…" He clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head, grumbling something under his breath moments later. "L-Listen Penny, you can't tell anyone about me. Do you understand? Just…keep this a secret."

"Kval," Penny eyed him. "you're my friend…right?"

Kval lifted his eyebrows at the sudden question. But even then, a smile formed itself onto his lips when he replied with, "Well, I guess right now we are _officially_ friends."

A wide grin crept across Penny's face, and she wasted no time in pulling her new friend in a bone-crushing hug. Speaking of which, Kval was immensely surprised at how strong the girl actually was, despite her looks. Even then, the fact that she was squeezing every bit of air out of his lungs did not bother him in the slightest, as crazy as that sounded.

When Penny finally decided to release Kval from her tight hug, the young vessel was confused to see her avoiding his eyes. And before he could even question anything regarding her sudden change in behavior, she began, "Well, you've just basically told me your secret, and since you're now my second best friend…" She closed her eyes. "…I think it would be fair if I were to tell you _my_ secret."

"Penny…" Kval patted her on the shoulder. "I don't want you to force yourself into telling me your secret just because I told you mine. If you do, you're probably going to end up making me feel bad." He grinned, tilting his head to one side soon after that.

Penny caught a brief glimpse of Kval's eyes when his head moved, but instead of sounding her thoughts on the matter, she decided to keep quiet. However, that did not stop her from grabbing both of the vessel's hands with her own before holding them up between them, just below her chin. She stared directly at where his eyes should be, and clarified, "But I _want_ to tell you."

To say that Kval was surprised at her sudden move was truly an understatement, and all he could do at that moment was return Penny's stare with his own, albeit nervously. He leaned his head back, but was surprised to find himself nodding despite truly not wanting to know the girl's secret, whatever it was anyway.

"W-Well…if you want, then…s-sure."

If Kval could kill his mouth right then and there, then he'd do it. He'd gladly do it. Hell, he'd do it in a heartbeat, and he wouldn't even care.

Too bad he couldn't.

Apparently, Kval was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he nearly failed to see Penny nodding her head a couple of times.

And what she said to him shocked him to his very core.

"I…I'm not a real girl too."

An awkward silence filled the cold air, and things seemed to stay that way.

If only for a few seconds.

"What do you mean?" Kval asked, still shocked.

Penny smiled a sad smile at the expected question, eyes downcast. "Well, let me explain…"

 **-IIXII-**

"Where is he?" Ruby asked to no one in particular, releasing a frustrated sigh soon after that.

The two girls had been searching for a long while now, but try as they might, they were _still_ unable to find Kval. And because of that, Ruby began to feel more and more tired as time flew by, but for some odd reason, she refused to take a break every time her faunus companion had told her to.

"Ruby, we should take it easy," Blake suggested, only for her to receive a frustrated look from the scythe wielder a second later.

"Blake, I'm _fine_. So let's just keep on searching," Ruby huffed. She turned around in order to resume walking, and muttered, "The quicker we find him, the better…"

Blake sighed in response, despite the smile which was plastered across her features. "To keep on searching despite knowing that you're tired…I guess you really _do_ like him."

"Of course I like him," Ruby replied without thinking. She looked over at Blake, and was confused to see her smirking for no reason. However, her face quickly became red upon piecing it all together. "I-I meant that as a friend!" she exclaimed with her face flushed, and later looked away with her arms crossed, grumbling something under her breath soon after that.

"No need to get all grumpy, Ruby," Blake said, smiling.

"I don't want to talk to you, Blake!"

Blake can't help but giggle at the childish retort, but she immediately stopped herself upon noticing the sad expression across the younger girl's face. Realizing her mistake, she quickly cleared her throat and gazed to the side, and later proceeded to mumble out an apology.

"I-It's fine." Ruby laughed nervously at that, eyes closing. "I'm just worried about him…a-and maybe…it's confusing, but…I don't know…m-maybe I _do_ like him…" She pressed her fingers against each other and started chewing on her lower lip when a certain vessel entered her mind, blushing a bit.

Blake stared at Ruby in utter shock, and not to mention that she was speechless. However, just when she was about to say something, some random girl came in and bumped herself into Ruby by accident.

"S-Sorry!" Ruby apologized, only to gasp out loud when the girl entered her vision. "Penny!" she exclaimed, grinning widely. And with that she quickly lunged forward, just so she could give her close friend a tight hug.

"Ruby!" Penny returned the gesture, before noticing the other girl who stared at them from the side. Nevertheless, she grinned. "Oh, and you're Blake!"

Blake gave a nod in greeting, smiling a bit. "Hey."

"It's so good to see you again, Penny," Ruby said, before giggling a bit as she added, "It sure has been a while since we last saw each other."

"It sure has been," Penny agreed, but then a cute little gasp left her lips, looking as if a brilliant idea had been formed inside her mind. "You two should meet my new friend! He's buying himself a drink at the moment, but he'll be here. Oh, and he's really nice!"

"A new friend, huh?" Ruby smiled. "Well, why not?"

"Yay!" Penny exclaimed.

"I should really thank Weiss for lending me her money when I get back. Though, I just hope the girls aren't too worried about me…" a voice said, which came from somewhere behind Penny.

"Oh, you're here! Kval, meet my first friend. The one who I told you about earlier!" Penny exclaimed. Her second best friend, whose name was Kazuma Kval, was unable to resist the urge to chuckle at her enthusiasm. The girl was really energetic in his opinion, not that it actually bothered him.

"Give me a moment," the vessel called out.

"Wait…w-what?" Ruby couldn't believe it. All she could do was stare, wide-eyed at that. Hell, Blake's expression was quite similar, and this was Blake of all people.

Kval took a small sip of his soda, and to be honest, he was really looking forward to meeting with Penny's first friend. From what he could gather from Penny, the girl sounded nice, a bit young, but nice. And she was fast too.

Weird.

He gazed at the person who Penny claimed to be her first friend, only to accidentally choke on his drink when Ruby's face met his eyes.

Fate really does liked to toy with him.

"Kval! A-Are you alright!?" Penny ran over to Kval's side and began patting him on the back for support, completely unaware of the stares which came from Ruby and Blake.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Well...that escalated quickly.**

 **Oh Ruby, you silly little girl...and Kval, you idiotic imbecile! Accidentally telling Penny your secret and all that! Not to mention Yang! What will happen next!?**

 **Well...read the next Phase to find out!**

 **Like I said in the previous Phase, I will update whenever I can. Thank you for being patient with me, and I'll see you guys again later in Phase 14!**

 **Farewell, my dear readers!**


	14. Phase 14

**Welcome to Phase 14 of Still Alive!**

 **My sincere apologies for the late update. I'm running out of ideas lately, so I had to use something a little early than planned to heat things up a bit. You'll know what I'm talking about once you're done reading this Phase. I'm sure of it.**

 **Also, this Phase might be weird again...but whatever!**

 **Anyway, thanks for the support guys! It really means a lot! And that means you too, Monitor-san!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

Penny stared at the three with confusion written across her face. She tilted her head to one side, oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

Kval tightened his grip around the can in his hand, but even then he managed to calm himself down by taking in a few deep breaths. Simply because he didn't want to end up doing something that he might regret. "Well," he began, smiling slightly, "seems to me that you girls found me."

Penny was confused even further at this point, and was even _more_ confused when Ruby ran up to her male companion without warning, pulling him into a tight hug.

"You big idiot! D-Do you even know how worried I was!?" Ruby yelled at him, burying her face into his chest soon after that.

Kval could feel his chest getting wet, and he soon began to stroke the little girl's hair in order to comfort her. Seeing her weak like this, it sure as hell made him feel guilty. "Ruby, why are you crying?" he asked, only to receive a weak punch to the gut from the smaller girl in response, prompting him to grunt in pain. "O-Okay…"

"I'm not crying!" Ruby exclaimed, despite the fact that she was burying her face deeper into his chest. "I-I'm not…"

"Ruby," Kval called out. He was about to say more, but decided against it when another punch was sent to his gut, albeit it was weaker than the last one.

"I said I'm not crying!" she exclaimed once more.

Unsure of what he was supposed to be doing, Kval sighed and decided to keep stroking the girl's hair. Turning to Blake, he was confused to see her looking elsewhere, cheeks red for some odd reason.

"You're the worse," Blake said, prompting the young vessel to stare at her in disbelief.

"H-Hey! It's not my fault that she's crying!" Kval yelled.

Blake only giggled in response.

"I'll get you for this," Kval warned.

Noticing the crying had died down a little bit, Kval gazed down at the smaller girl, smiling slightly. "You feeling okay?"

Ruby looked up at him with teary eyes, only to embrace him tightly shortly after. "I…we were worried about you…" she mumbled. She listened in to the sound of his heartbeat, and was unable to resist smiling at that. "We were worried sick, y'know?"

"I'm sorry I worried you guys. I wasn't thinking straight," Kval apologized, only to jump a little bit when the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard, which came from a certain faunus. Turning to Blake, he took note of the guilty expression she was making, and immediately understood what this was about.

After what felt like an eternity, Blake finally gathered all the courage she could find in herself and looked him in the eyes, or where his eyes should be, in her case. She opened her mouth to speak, only to close it shut when Kval shook his head.

"Blake, I don't want to hear it," he said.

Blake tried opening her mouth once more, but whatever she was planning to say unfortunately died in her throat when the vessel narrowed his eyes at her.

"Blake, I said _no_ ," he warned.

With this, Blake looked to the side as the black bow on the top of her head flattened itself, which unintentionally made her look cute.

Though, Kval would never admit it. Not out loud, of course.

"Good, because I don't want to hear any of it. Not even a single thing, you hear?" Kval told her, smiling a bit as he did.

"So these people are your friends?" Penny asked Kval with a puzzled look, but after piecing it all together, she gasped. "They're your _friends_!?"

Ruby pulled herself away from Kval, and later avoided his gaze with her face flushed. "Y-You told her?" she asked.

"Yeah. She kept on asking me about it after finding out that something was bothering me," Kval explained with a shrug, before turning to Penny. "Penny, I want you to meet my friends. But you guys have probably met each other, so I guess there's that." He gave a nervous laugh at that.

"Hi! I'm Penny! It's nice to meet you!" Penny exclaimed all of a sudden. She held out her hand towards Ruby, grinning widely for some reason.

"Eh?" Kval eyed the girl. "But I thought…"

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Uh…Penny?"

The strange girl giggled to herself, and soon started to laugh out loud. "I was just joking!" she exclaimed, "Hehe! I still have my memories, friend Ruby!"

The others exchanged looks, and were unable to resist laughing as well.

"Haha! That sure got me!" Kval exclaimed, before sighing once all the laughing started to die down a bit. "I-It's been a long while since I've laughed like this."

"Y-You got me there Penny…hehe…" Ruby said after recovering from her laughing fit, giggling to herself moments later. "I still can't believe I fell for that."

"Well, I think it's time we leave. I don't trust Weiss enough to handle Yang all by herself back in Beacon," Blake suggested, shaking her head from side to side as a small chuckle escaped her lips.

"Already?" Penny pouted.

Blake nodded. She pointed her finger at Kval while he drank his soda, and later explained, "Yeah. Because that guy over there just destroyed the door to our dorm room back in Beacon."

Kval choked on his drink upon hearing that, and soon started pounding his fist into his chest a couple of times when he began to cough uncontrollably. "O-Oh no! I totally forgot about the door!"

Turning so that she was facing him, Blake smiled an assuring smile and said, "Worry not, Kazuma. Weiss promised us a new door, so I'm sure she already has it covered by now. Probably."

"S-Sorry for the trouble." Kval sighed, only for his eyes to narrow themselves once he realized what she had just said. "What do you mean _probably_?"

"Kazuma!" Ruby jumped around in order to get the vessel's attention, and when she did, she made a sad face and quietly asked, "Y-You'll return to Beacon with us…r-right?"

Kval silently stared at her, before smiling warmly as he patted her on the head. "Yeah. I will. Now let's head back."

"J-Just go easy on Yang," Ruby pleaded, if not for the blonde's sake. But even then, she couldn't help but blush when the boy's hand made contact with her head. Why's that, she'd never know. Not now at least.

Kval chuckled. "Got it."

 **-IIXII-**

"I will be seeing you guys later!" Penny yelled with a cheerful smile, waving at them as she walked away.

Kval waved back, smiling as he did so. "Such a sweet girl." He was oblivious to the face Ruby was making upon hearing the words he just said, nor the stifled laughter which came from Blake.

After parting their ways with Penny, Kval and the two girls decided that it would be best if they were to return to Beacon. It was getting pretty late, after all.

As he walked, Kval looked to the two girls from the corner of his eyes. Just by looking at their faces, he knew that something was up. So in order to find out what's troubling the two, he halted himself and turned around.

Ruby and Blake were surprised when he suddenly stopped, but the two immediately avoided his gaze.

"W-Why did you stop?" Ruby managed to ask, fidgeting in her spot when she felt his gaze on her.

"I'm not mad."

The two winced, before realization quickly dawned on them.

"You're really not mad at us?" Blake asked for confirmation, still avoiding his gaze.

"I thought you were just holding it all in when we were with Penny…" Ruby muttered.

"Girls, the one person who I should be mad at right now is…well, myself." Kval released a small sigh at that, shaking his head from side to side shortly after. "I ran away without listening to your explanation. So, I'm sorry-" Something tackled into him, but with a quick look it turned out to be Ruby Rose herself, much to his surprise.

"H-How could you?" Ruby muttered. She buried her face in his chest, and yelled, "How could you even say that!? It wasn't your fault! You idiot! Stupid! Dummy! Lettuce head!"

Kval raised one of his eyebrows in response to that last one.

"You're the worse…" Blake muttered as she observed the scene with an amused expression.

"Darn it! I-It's not my fault that she's…fine! Maybe it _is_ my fault! So what!?" Kval yelled at the faunus girl with an irritated expression. And with that he began to gently stroke Ruby's hair in an attempt to make her stop crying, before tossing the empty can that he had been holding in the nearest trash bin he could find.

"I-I failed to stop you…and y-you broke down the door. I d-didn't even do anything…" Ruby clutched at his sweater. "I'm sorry…"

Letting out a quiet sigh, Kval gazed down at Ruby, and later smiled. "Ruby, I know you're still young and you…probably don't take failures all that well, but it's the part of growing up. I mean, look at what I've done. I made a big mistake…and you know which mistake that I'm currently talking about."

"You mean…y-your past?" Ruby gazed up at him.

Kval nodded. "Yeah. My past. And _Blake_."

Blake didn't know how it happened, but she actually flinched. _Flinched_. And all because her name was called out by Kval.

She must've looked like a complete fool.

"Y-Yes?" Blake inquired, nervously at that.

"I know I said that I wasn't mad earlier, but…you owe me."

Blake gulped. "I-I…owe you?"

"That's right. I want you to do something for me."

That's when she felt a chill running down her spine, and the mischievous grin on his face wasn't helping at all. In fact, it made her feel all the more uneasy, and that's coming from _her_ of all people.

But despite all that, she had no intention of backing out like a coward.

She needed to do this.

"Name it," Blake said, eyeing him.

"When we get back, I want you to stop using that black bow for three days. Also, you're only allowed to use it when you're outside our room," Kval calmly explained. His hand, however, was still stationed on the top of Ruby's head, and that unintentionally left the little girl all flustered.

"Y-You…" Blake stared at him, shocked beyond belief. "No! I won't do it! That's just too much!" She took a few steps back in fear, eyes widening. "S-Something else! Anything but this!" Blake told him with what was left of her fighting spirit, but it was all completely drained away when his cold voice reached her ears.

"Y'know, I was kind enough to give you three days."

"H-How about books? I-I'll get you a lot of books to read, and you'll never end up getting bored ever again! How about it?" she started with a desperate look, but was ultimately left ignored when the vessel's gaze went upwards. "K-Kazuma?"

Kval cupped his chin. "Maybe a week should do it."

Now _that_ seemed to do the trick.

"Okay! Okay! I'll do it!" Blake groaned, slouching in her spot as a defeated look took over her features. "You win this round…you little demon. And I always thought that you were innocent…"

"Why, thank you." Kval chuckled, before gazing down at Ruby. "Well Ruby, time to go."

Ruby nodded eagerly like an adorable little puppy, prompting the young vessel to laugh slightly.

"Fine…" Blake grumbled.

"Come on Blake, don't be such a sour…puss…" Kval covered his mouth with a hand as the two girls stared at him, shocked. "Oh dear."

Seconds ticked by in silence, and Ruby can be seen giggling to herself. Blake on the other hand, was not pleased to say the least.

"Yang will definitely need to hear this!" Ruby exclaimed, which earned her a sour look from the cat faunus.

Kval nodded in agreement. "But seriously though, that pun was not intended…"

Blake sent the vessel a death glare and stormed off, grumbling to herself every now and then. Seemed like she wasn't in the mood to talk.

And if Kval was being honest with himself, the glare which she had just given him could have possibly rivaled his own.

Could have.

But in the end, Ruby and Kval simply grinned at one another, and later followed a very displeased Blake.

 **-IIXII-**

Velvet released a frustrated sigh as she walked around in the streets of Vale. She was in a sour mood, apparently, judging by the look she was making with her face every now and then.

Why?

Simply because her team leader had kept on shouting nonsense and such for the past hour when she was at Beacon. Ripping Kval's head off his shoulders was one of them.

Velvet had decided to walk around in Vale without any particular reason, or maybe she just wanted to get some fresh air and escape her nonstop ranting team leader. Besides, Fox and Yatsuhashi had been busy with their own things, so she didn't really want to bother them.

"I hope that the new café I've been hearing about is open today," Velvet said to herself with a bright smile. She was currently wearing her battle gear instead of her casual clothes. It may seemed a bit weird to others, but she had seen Team RWBY and Team JNPR do it every time they went to Vale. And to be honest, she didn't see anything wrong with wearing her battle gear in Vale, so there's also that.

The rabbit faunus hummed a happy tune as she walked, only to stop when the sound of someone coughing caught her attention, which came from a nearby alley. Velvet ignored it at first, but when she was about to pass that particular alley, she couldn't help but gasp at the sight which met her eyes.

Standing in the middle of the alleyway, was a man wearing what seemed to be a black trench coat and trousers. A black fedora was spotted somewhere on the ground near the man's feet, and Velvet could easily tell that it was his. That being said, he was currently clutching at his stomach in complete pain, and upon closer inspection, Velvet took note of the fact that he was bleeding, and his clothes were soaking wet. Heck, he looked like he had been swimming in a lake or something.

"W-What the hell…h-happened?" The man coughed, and soon fell to one of his hands and knees. The sound of light footsteps can clearly be heard, but he was too confused about his situation to actually notice, that is until a feminine voice called out to him.

"A-Are you okay!?"

Looking up, the first thing he saw was a pair of brown orbs looking directly at him, which were filled with concern and worry.

"Eh?" He squinted his eyes, only for him to enter a coughing fit shortly after.

Just by looking at him, Velvet can clearly tell how much pain the man was currently going through. And when she moved forward in order to help, his voice reached her ears.

"Y-You wouldn't mind…with lending me a hand, now would you?"

And for some odd reason, it sounded familiar.

 _Too_ familiar.

 **-IIXII-**

 **It looks like we got ourselves a new guest. Well, I guess it's time to spice things up a bit!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed Phase 14. And again, thanks a lot for the support. Trust me. Just by watching the views of this story rising up to new heights every single day makes me feel happy than never before.**

 **Also...this Phase was probably a little weird. But like I said earlier, whatever! Rusted or not, I shall continue!**

 **I'll see you guys again later in Phase 15!**

 **Peace out!**


	15. Phase 15

**Welcome to Phase 15 of Still Alive!**

 **Sorry for the late update by the way...and I got 10000 plus views! I'm so freaking out right now! All my thanks goes to you readers, and a special thanks to Monitor-san!**

 **Now, a user named moki0316 had suggested that I should add more BlazBlue characters in this story and I was like...I'll think about it. That would be a lot, and I mean a lot more complicated. But if I do end up planning on adding more BlazBlue characters in this story, then I'll let you guys know...or not.**

 **To tell you guys the truth...please don't be mad...I haven't played Chrono Phantasma at all. Because a certain someone decided to not release the game on XBOX 360 just because the game's graphic would be at low quality!**

 **Who cares about graphics!? I'm playing Continuum Shift II in my small phone using PPSSPP everyday and I don't give a damn about the crappy graphics!**

 **We OtaGamers don't give a damn about graphics! Yeah, that's right! I call myself that!**

 **Anyway, on with the story and thank you so much for the support!**

 **I do not own BlazBlue or RWBY.**

 **Now get your butt out there and read!**

* * *

Velvet could only gasp after getting a good look on the man's face, causing said man to stare at her in confusion.

"Uh…h-help?" he asked weakly, right before coughing up some blood from his mouth.

"H-Hang in there!" With this, the rabbit faunus ran up to the man's side and places one of his arms around her shoulders, lifting him up after giving him enough time to prepare himself.

"W-We need to get you to a hospital!"

The man coughed in response, and asked her, "P-Pardon me for asking this but…where am I?"

The question caught Velvet by surprise, as she turns her head to face him.

The first thing that came to her mind after seeing the man's face up-close was Kazuma Kval, mostly because of the man's green hair. Although, his hair was a lot more shorter and she could clearly see his closed eyes.

But right now is clearly not the time to examine the man's face, because he seriously needs immediate medical attention.

"You're in the city of Vale," she calmly told him, earning a confused look from the man.

"City…of Vale?" he asked again as he looks down, as if he was deep in thought. "Put me down for a second," the man told her with a weak smile, and was placed gently on the ground near the wall by Velvet afterwards, leaning against it to make himself a bit more comfortable.

Velvet couldn't help but feel worried for the injured man.

"Mister, you need medical attention right away!" she told him, panicking as seconds flew by. "At this rate…" Velvet trailed off, staring at the man with widen eyes after realizing there were no hospitals nearby. Even the trip to the nearest hospital would take half an hour to reach, and that was by foot.

"Oh…I think I'm fine now," he assured Velvet, wincing in pain when he tried moving one of his legs. "T-Thanks for your concern but…I'm sure my injuries are slowly being healed."

"S-Slowly…being healed?" Velvet asked with a tilt of her head, and heard him sigh.

"Do you know the NOL?" the man asked Velvet, as he was slowly taking off his trench coat, revealing the blood stains on his white shirt.

Velvet couldn't help but stare at the man's injuries in shock, and also couldn't help but wonder what he meant by his injuries slowly being healed. After taking a closer look at him, she confirmed that he indeed resembled a lot like Kval, only a bit older.

Noticing the female was currently spacing out, the man grumbled something under his breath, and calls out, "Miss?" He waves his hand to catch her attention, prompting her to blink once before shaking her head sideways.

"Y-Yes!?" Velvet squeaked out as she looked at him, blushing in embarrassment.

He sighed again, and repeated his question from earlier, "Do you know the NOL?"

"H-Huh?" The girl looked at him in confusion, shaking her head sideways in response to the man's question, "I-I don't think I know what that is…"

The man stares at her for a moment, but then looks down at his injuries. He then turns his head upwards to face the sky, and murmured, "Well…just as I suspected."

"U-Uh…um…" Velvet stuttered as she tried to get the man's attention, but was ignored as he stood up slowly, using the wall for support since his injuries hadn't fully healed yet.

Picking the black fedora off the ground and placing it on his head, the man turned his attention towards the girl in front of him and gave her a kind smile.

Velvet could clearly see that his legs were still weak from his injuries. She was about to help him in case if his legs would fail him, but stops herself when she heard the man's sudden question.

"Would you believe me if I said…that I'm not from around here?"

Velvet blinked once, twice, trice, after she was done listening the man's question. No answer came from the girl as she stared at him with a blank look on her features.

Realizing that the question just made the situation awkward, he clears his throat nervously.

"B-Believe me when I say that I'm not from around here. And I work for the NOL. The Intelligence Department if I might add. If I were to ask a random person in the streets about the NOL, then surely they would have knew what the NOL was to begin with. But you however, do not."

One of her rabbit ears twitched as she kept on staring at him.

"Now where are my manners?" he says, and shook his head with a disapproving look. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Hazama," the man named Hazama introduced himself with a kind smile, taking off his fedora as he bowed in a gentlemanly way.

The rabbit faunus blinked and stammered in response, blushing slightly, "M-My name is Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina."

Averting her gaze away from the man in embarrassment, Velvet didn't take notice of the sly grin that he had on his face.

* * *

The three members of Team RWBY, plus their new teammate, were standing in front of the door to their room in surprise. They could clearly tell that Weiss had to go through a lot when they were in Vale earlier, and could also tell that their entire team will be in deep trouble.

But they can get into trouble later. No matter how deep it will be. Because right now, they were extremely exhausted. Nothing is more better than to lay themselves down in their beds and relax, and just by the mere thought of it made them smile.

"W-Well…I guess the door is fixed," Ruby told her green-haired friend with a sheepish grin, earning a smile from him. "A plus, am I right?"

Blake moves forward and was about to reach for the door knob, but was stopped when Kval grabbed her wrist. She was surprised and confused at his sudden actions, along with Ruby.

Turning their heads to face him, they saw that he had his finger placed in front of his lips, smiling playfully at them. Blake raised an eyebrow in confusion, and Ruby was curious on what he was planning on doing.

Letting go of girl's wrist, he took in a deep breath, and kicks the door open with both of his hands in his pockets.

"W-What the hell!?"

The voice of Yang Xiao Long could clearly be heard from the inside of the room, as she almost had a heart attack. The blonde brawler was obviously not expecting their new door to be kicked open.

Unknown to them, Weiss, who was also in the room with Yang, was currently hoping that their new door wouldn't get destroyed again so soon after all the hard work that she went through. That however, was still not enough to stop her from staring at the kicked opened door in complete shock.

Kval's playful expression was already replaced with the look of seriousness when he lifted his foot up earlier. Placing his foot back on the ground, he walks inside their room slowly, his hands still in his pockets.

The two girls who were behind Kval could only stare at him in surprise, peeking their heads through the doorway afterwards to see what was going to happen.

Standing in the middle of the room was Kval with his hoodie pulled over his head, shadowing his face slightly. But even with the hoodie, everyone could tell that he was glaring at Yang, since he was currently facing the blonde brawler's direction.

The room was filled with complete silence for a full five seconds, and Yang immediately flinched when she saw Kval pointing at her.

"Kazuma…c-come on…" Yang stuttered with a terrified look as she tried to drop the tension that was building up in their dorm room. As a few more seconds passed by in complete silence, everyone was taken aback at what they saw.

Kval was laughing as he held his stomach with one of his arms, while the other one was still pointing at Yang. The others could only stare at him in disbelief as he kept on laughing, but Yang's face was flushed in embarrassment.

"Y-You should have s-seen the look on your face! Hahaha!" the boy said as he looks at Yang, now holding his stomach with both of his arms. "I-It was priceless!" he exclaimed, not even bothering to contain his laughter.

The next thing he knew, he was hit in the face by a pillow and fell on his back, grunting in slight pain. However, he turned to his side and continued his laughing. Yang was fuming, her eyes no longer in their original lilac color, but was now crimson.

Seeing that Kval was still laughing and not planning on stopping anytime soon, Yang growled and shouts at him, "You are the worse!"

All she got in response from the boy was him turning to his other side followed with more laughter, prompting the blonde to growl with her hands balled up into fists.

It took him a few seconds to catch his breath, and he finally spoke.

"T-That was totally worth it."

Another pillow was making its way to his chest, which he narrowly avoided by rolling away before sitting himself up. Pulling his hood up, Kval gave the fuming blonde a cheerful smile.

"You'll regret doing that," Yang growled at him as she jumps down from her bunk bed, slowly making her way towards the boy and cracking her knuckles. At that exact moment, the cheerful look on Kval's face was replaced with the look of seriousness.

This time, he wasn't joking around.

"So you're telling me that you didn't regret what you said to me earlier?"

Yang winced and immediately stops in her tracks, her crimson eyes turning back into their original lilac color as she averted her gaze away from him, placing her hands behind her.

No one knew when it happened, but Weiss had somehow managed to sneak pass Kval and joined her other two teammates who were at the doorway. Although she wouldn't admit it, but even Weiss knew that there were a few things in life that she shouldn't mess with. Those things were Nora, Yang's hair, Ruby's chocolate chip cookies, and Blake's book collections.

But another one had been recently added to her short list, and that was an angered Kval.

Even though she had battled against the creatures of Grimm back in initiation day and when Vale had been breached, Weiss decided that she does not, and she seriously does not, wants to face an angered Kval.

As the room was deathly silent, Yang couldn't help but feel pathetic for herself. She wanted to apologize to him, but instead of that, all she was doing at that exact moment was biting her lower lip. Staring down at her feet, the blonde brawler was looking like a small girl who was currently being glared at by her father.

After gathering enough courage, Yang was finally able to speak, although her voice was barely audible.

"…I-I'm sorry about earlier."

A hand had landed itself on her shoulder, and she flinched at the sudden touch contact.

"I forgive you."

Yang went wide-eyed in surprise, and immediately fixed her gaze in front of her, revealing the sight of Kval smiling warmly at her.

"H-Huh?" she stuttered, blinking a few times to make sure that she wasn't just imagining things.

Giving the blonde brawler a soft chop on the head, Kval sighed as he made his way towards his bed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue reading the book that Blake had lend me earlier."

"B-But Kazuma…a-aren't you…mad at me?" Yang asked him nervously, not really sure why she was asking him that question instead of letting it go.

Kval turns himself around to face her with a cheerful expression. "I'm not mad, Yang. Besides, you were just being you."

Yang blushes and averted her gaze away from him, before one of her eyes twitched when she realized what he had just told her. "I was just…being me?" Cracking her knuckles, she gave Kval a murderous look, "So you're telling me…that I'm always like that?"

"Hehe…c-calm down Yang," the green-haired boy said to her with a nervous smile, raising the book that he had in his hands in front of him as if it was a shield.

Yang gave him a wicked grin, walking slowly towards him after that. However, Blake managed to stop her partner from causing anymore problems for their entire team by holding her scroll in front of the blonde brawler's face.

Yang's face immediately went pale when she saw the picture on the scroll's screen, and quickly attempted to snatch the scroll away from Blake's hand so she could delete said picture. But unfortunately for Yang, the cat faunus was a lot more faster than her.

"Blake! Delete that picture this instant!" Yang shouts at her partner and stomped her foot on the ground like an angered child.

"Go back to bed if you don't want me to send this picture to Team JNPR," Blake ordered with a stern glare and pointed at Yang's bed, prompting the blonde brawler to grumble to herself as she slowly headed towards her bed.

Looking out the window, Weiss noticed that it was already dark outside. Entering back inside their room after she was sure that Kval was back to his normal self and closing the door behind her, she folds her arms with her eyes closed.

"Well, I highly suggest that we sleep for now." Weiss then turns her head slowly towards her green-haired teammate, earning a nervous laugh from him as he took notice of it. "I, Weiss Schnee, heiress to The Schnee Dust Company, am extremely exhausted from all the work that I went through today just because of getting ourselves a new door."

"Weiss, do me a favor and don't be so dramatic," Ruby told her partner with a roll of her eyes.

At this, the heiress simply made her way to her bed as she muttered, "You all have no idea what I've been through today."

"Anyway, what's in the scroll?" Kval walked up to Blake's side and tilted his head slightly, causing the blonde brawler to glare at her partner with her crimson eyes. Although, there was still a bit of fear in her expression.

"Don't you dare!"

Too late.

The moment Blake held her scroll in front of Kval's face, he immediately fell on his back and started laughing like earlier.

"Hahaha! T-That face was still priceless! Haha!" the boy said as he turned to his side and kept on laughing, earning a few giggles from his teammates.

Yang's entire face was red. Either it was from the embarrassment of being humiliated or anger of being laughed at, they didn't know. But there could be a high chance that it was actually both.

"Y-You guys…are the worse!" she shouted and threw a pillow at the laughing boy, earning a painful grunt from him as it managed to hit him in the chest. But that was still not enough to keep him from laughing.

"Trust me, he's the true devil here…" Blake muttered as she slowly took off the black bow on her head, earning surprised looks from everyone in the room.

Exposing her cat ears made her feel extremely uncomfortable, not to mention that she was blushing madly in front of her teammates, which surprised them further.

The blonde brawler's mouth was wide open in shock, but then a mischievous grin had slowly made its way up her face. "Okay…what's going on?"

Blake points at the boy with her thumb while she was glaring daggers at her feet, not wanting to say anything.

"I don't know what you did to convince her but…good job!" Yang gave the green-haired boy a thumbs up with her trademark grin.

"More like he forced me to…" the cat faunus muttered under her breath.

"I almost forgot! Hey Yang!" Ruby zips her way to her sister's side with a wide grin, prompting the blonde to raise one of her eyebrows in curiosity.

"What is it, Ruby?"

The little girl's grin became somewhat wider, "Kazuma made a pun earlier today!"

"Him? Making a pun?" Weiss scowled at her partner as she points at Kval, who was currently being glared at by Blake. "That is just unbelievable." The heiress pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head sideways.

"So…what was the pun?" Yang asked Kval with a serious expression. The boy scratched the back of his neck nervously, suddenly feeling like he was currently walking on thin ice.

"I…uh…I forgot…" he lied.

"Something clearly tells me that you're lying," the blonde told him with her arms crossed, not noticing the dangerous glare that Kval was receiving from her partner.

* * *

Outside Team RWBY's dorm room, a certain faunus girl was slowly passing by with a nervous look on her features.

"I guess I'll have to meet with him again tomorrow…" Velvet murmured, before stopping herself and took a moment to stare at Team RWBY's door.

"Was he…Kazuma's brother?"

* * *

"Damn…I'll kill you…Hakumen…"

The person coughed up blood after regaining consciousness, wincing as he sat himself up before leaning against the nearest crate for support.

The man took off his hooded cape and groans, revealing his spiky green hair. He closes his eyes for a brief moment to calm himself down, before opening them again. Looking down at himself, he saw all the injuries on his body had finally started to heal themselves, albeit slowly.

The man tried to stand up on his feet, but failed miserably as he fell back on the ground. He hisses in pain, glaring daggers at his injured legs with his serpentine eyes after that.

"Fucking Susano'o Unit…fucking Time Killer…fucking injuries…" he grumbles to himself with an irritated expression as he waited for his injuries to fully heal themselves, scanning his surroundings afterwards as he kept on waiting.

"Is this…a dock?"

Well, that explains the mountains of crates around him.

Raising one of his eyebrows in confusion, the man looks up at the sky. It was already dark when he regained consciousness, which was not really a surprise considering that he had just survived a battle against the leader of the Six Heroes.

After staring at the dark sky for a few more minutes, something had finally managed to catch his full attention. The man blinked twice, not believing what he was currently looking at.

"Where…the hell am I?" he asked to no one in particular, staring above at the shattered moon with widen eyes.

* * *

 **What did Remnant do to deserve this?**

 **Wait, don't answer that!**

 **I was planning on adding Hazama and Terumi in the beginning anyway. Things will get pretty ugly. Also, no. Hazama doesn't know that Terumi is in Remnant with him and vise versa. You guys are gonna be surprised to see what Hazama will be doing in Remnant...**

 **Does anyone else find the scene where Qrow told Yang and Ruby his perverted tale hilarious?**

 **I was laughing my ass off!**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Phase 15 of Still Alive!**

 **Thank you for all the support and I'll see you guys again in Phase 16!**


	16. Phase 16

**Welcome to Phase 16 of Still Alive!**

 **Yes, it is I, CPL! I've come to deliver...**

 **Alright, cut the crap.** **I'm updating this early as thanks to you guys. My special thanks goes to Monitor-san and moki-san!**

 **One of the reasons why I updated early is because last Phase received a lot of reviews. It was quite hilarious really, seeing that you guys kept saying Terumi will fuck things up and saying that everyone's screwed.**

 **The first time he appears, everyone loses their minds!**

 **Well as always, I'd like to give you all my thanks for all the support which you guys have given me. It means a lot...and I say that a lot...sorry...**

 **Now, enjoy Phase 16!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

* * *

Even though it was early in the morning, with no classes for the day at Beacon, Velvet had taken the time to take an early shower. And after she was done showering, the young faunus proceeded to get herself dressed, as quietly as possible, that is.

When her teammates had woken up, they were quite surprised. Mostly Coco.

"Velvet? What are you doing up so early?" Coco asked her faunus teammate. She rubbed one of her eyes with a puzzled expression, but it was then replaced with the look of anger when something crossed her mind. "Kazuma is dead," the leader of Team CFVY growled. She made an attempt to grab her handbag, which was right beside her bed.

"N-No! I'm just heading out to Vale!" Velvet quickly explained. She gave a sigh of relief upon seeing her leader placing the heavy handbag back down. "And don't even think about killing him!"

Walking towards the door all dressed up in her battle gear, Velvet turned to her teammates and smiled. "I'm going out now!"

"Be careful," Yatsuhashi told the faunus with a soft smile, and Fox nodded at that.

"See you guys later," Velvet giggled.

And with that, she left.

The room suddenly went silent.

Coco took note of the stares her remaining teammates were giving her. She stared back at them, before she quickly threw her hands in the air with a frustrated expression.

"Alright! I won't kill him!"

Yatsuhashi and Fox couldn't resist the urge to smile at their leader.

* * *

"Reading in the library sure is fun, don't you think?" Mercury said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He closed the door behind him and yawned. "My back is killing me…"

The boy's partner, Emerald Sustrai, simply rolled her eyes in response to what he had said. "Idiot."

"Well, you both had fun," the woman seated at one of the beds in the room stated with a slight smirk, which prompted Emerald to straighten herself.

"Nothing new to report, Cinder."

Mercury folded his arms and leaned against the wall with a bored look. "So, what are we going to do about _him_?"

The sudden question made his partner flinched.

"This is what happens when you do things without thinking, Emerald," the woman said with her eyes closed.

"It won't happen again, I promise," Emerald said meekly. She flinched once more when Cinder opened her eyes, as the older woman eyed her.

"Make sure that it won't." Cinder's eyes glowed briefly, but soon she found herself focusing her gaze on Mercury.

"So, what's the plan?" Mercury asked.

"Simple. We kill him."

With this, Mercury's eyes went wide in surprise, along with his partner.

"Are you sure?" he asked with a bit of uncertainty in his voice, "I mean, we _could_ make it look like an accident. No problem at all."

"No. We don't need to do anything." Cinder couldn't resist the urge to smirk, earning confused looks from the two partners.

"But…we're still going to kill him, right?" Emerald asked her with a tilt of her head.

"Technically, not us," Cinder explained with a sly grin. She grabbed the scroll on her bed, and added, "We'll just let our friend do it instead."

* * *

Sitting up in her bed, Yang stretched her arms and gave a tired yawn. The blonde then slowly opened her eyes and mumbled, "I need a shower…"

Realizing that she indeed needed a shower, Yang slowly climbed down her bunk bed and made her way towards their bathroom. She took her yellow towel and placed it around her shoulders, mumbling something as she did so.

Once the bathroom door was opened by her, Yang wasted no time in covering her mouth with both hands at the sight which greeted her eyes. Her cheeks began to turn red in color, utterly speechless.

In the bathroom was Kval, soaking wet from head to toe with his green towel wrapped around his waist. The green-haired vessel was currently staring at her with an unreadable expression. Not a minute later, he returned his gaze to the mirror and resumed brushing his teeth with his toothbrush, acting as if nothing weird was happening.

Slamming the door shut with her face flushed, which caused the rest of Team RWBY to jolt awake in their beds, Yang closed her eyes and shouted, "D-Don't mind me! I-I was never here!"

A few minutes passed by after that small incident, and Kval finally exited the bathroom with a small smile on his face. He was all dressed up in his Mage's Guild uniform.

"I'm really sorry about earlier. It was my fault." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hehe…I forgot to lock the door again."

"Typical…" Weiss grumbled.

Yang simply frowned at him, no longer blushing.

"There you go again…blaming yourself," she said to him with a sigh, before grinning. "Well, we're both at fault anyway. But your reaction earlier pretty much…caught me off-guard. Normally, you'd be a stuttering mess when this sort of thing happens."

Kval gave the blonde a grin of his own. He slowly fixed his gaze on a certain reaper inside their room, who seemed to be looking at them from her bunk bed.

"Well, let's just say that I'm used to it," the boy sheepishly said, which prompted the little reaper to blush slightly with her gaze moving elsewhere.

The room went silent for a few seconds, that is until Blake managed to piece it all together.

"W-Wait…you're saying that this happens every time with Ruby?" she asked, amber eyes widening slightly.

"You're joking…" Weiss added, "…right?"

Kval simply chuckled, and from the looks of things, Ruby seemed to be blushing harder than before.

"I'm…forgetful at times," he admitted, "You girls know me, right?"

"H-He walked in while I was in the middle of changing once…" Ruby said shyly. She lowered her head a bit, still blushing. "I g-guess I'm a bit…forgetful at times too."

In that exact moment, Kval felt chills running down his spine.

"I see…" Yang trailed off. She kept her gaze on Kval, clenching her hands tightly.

The young vessel didn't know what the others were currently thinking after hearing Ruby's statement, but one thing was definitely certain.

The wide grin on Yang's face told him to make a run for it.

* * *

"This place…is too peaceful."

Upon entering the café, Hazama took a random seat somewhere and gave a small sigh. He checked his watch, frowning as he realized how late it already was.

"Where could she be?" he asked to no one in particular with a bored expression, resting his head on the table afterwards.

Hazama, a cunning fighter and the very same vessel of one Yuuki Terumi, was currently sitting in a café. And to top it all of, he was waiting for the arrival of a certain girl with a pair of rabbit ears on her head.

If Terumi could see him right now, then he'd be laughing his ass off for the entire world to see. Hell, the bastard would roll on the floor for all he knew.

"S-Sorry I'm late!" a familiar voice called out in the distance.

Hazama smiled as he lifted his head off the table. "There is no reason to apologize, Miss Scarlatina. And besides, I came in just a few minutes ago."

Velvet gave him a smile and took her seat at his table, placing her hands on her lap as she looked to him. "S-So…how are your injuries?"

"They're healed," Hazama assured the faunus with a small chuckle, resting his arms on the table soon after. "Although, sleeping in that alley wasn't really my thing…" he trailed off somewhat awkwardly, earning a giggle from Velvet.

The thought of him sleeping in that alley was beyond ridiculous, and last night was proof of that. Though, Hazama had to admit, he actually needed that sleep after everything that he went through.

"So um…Hazama?" Velvet called out shyly, "S-Since you're…not from around here, are you…planning on finding a way back to where you came from?" The girl whispered that last part, eyeing her surroundings as if they were being watched.

Hazama couldn't help the urge to chuckle at her behavior. This girl reminded him a lot like Noel Vermillion.

"Why yes. But before I do that, I need to…" he cleared his throat, "…find myself a place to stay."

Velvet blinked a couple of times, then nodded in understanding. "Is this the main reason why you needed my help?"

Hazama winced slightly, which went unnoticed by the faunus girl. He didn't like being helped, but for now he didn't have any other choice, lest he wanted to sleep in that dirty alley again. The thought of it made him shudder.

"Precisely. You see, I don't have money, and I'm…not quite familiar with this place," Hazama explained with a nod. He took his fedora off of his head and placed it onto the table. "You're the very first person who I've met in this world, and the only one who I could trust."

Velvet looked to him somewhat nervously, but her expression soon changed to one of determination.

"I'll do my best to help you. I promise."

"Thank you, Miss Scarlatina." He smiled.

Velvet shook her head sideways, much to his confusion. "You can just call me Velvet," she said.

Hazama tilted his head slightly, and smiled once more. "Well, if you insist."

Velvet grinned. "So, you want me to find you a place to stay, correct?"

"Straight to the business I see." The man chuckled at that, nodding, "Yes. Like I've stated earlier, I'm not quite familiar with this place. I was hoping that you could suggest me a good place to stay. And maybe, a place where the pay is low."

Velvet decided to use this particular moment to think of something useful, her gaze slowly going upwards.

A whole minute had gone by, but unfortunately all the places which she could come up with were either too expensive, or not up to his standards. She frowned slightly. Velvet looked to Hazama, and took note of how calm he was as he currently stared outside the window with his arms folded.

She began to wonder how he could remain calm after sustaining those injuries yesterday, which prompted her rabbit ears to droop down slightly. If he was able to survive from those injuries and keep on walking, then it was pretty obvious that he could fight.

If not, then how on Remnant did he managed to defend himself from his attacker and survive?

Despite his looks, she can't help but feel like this man was not what he seemed to be. But all those thoughts were immediately thrown out the window when an idea formed itself inside her mind.

Though, there was a high chance that it might not work.

"Hazama?" Velvet called out softly with a cheerful smile, gaining his attention. "I have one question."

The man raised one of his eyebrows in response as he nodded. However, upon hearing Velvet's question, he flinched.

"Can you fight well?"

Hazama stared at her, and he found himself looking away few seconds later. "Well, fighting is not really my thing, but…I guess I'm pretty reliable when it comes to combat," he explained, all the while rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Velvet gave him a small grin. "Good, because I have a plan."

"A plan?" Hazama asked, curious. He proceeded to lean himself forward, a smirk gracing his lips. "Do tell."

"Don't get _too_ excited just yet," she giggled, "But, I'm afraid there's a high chance that it might not work. Even so, it's worth a try, right?" The rabbit faunus tilted her head slightly, adding, "Better than nothing."

Hazama wanted more info, as he was curious on what the girl had in store for him.

"So, what is this plan that you have in mind? I can't really say that I'm not curious."

"Well, for it to work…" She pressed her fingers together, letting out a nervous laugh as her rabbit ears covered her face. "…I need a day. So I'm afraid that you need to sleep in that alley again."

Hazama instantly froze in his seat, and not a moment too soon, he sighed in defeat. "Fine."

"S-Sorry about this. And hey, since we're in this café, how about I buy us both a drink?" she suggested politely with a kind smile. "Think of it as an apology. Though, you're probably thirsty to begin with."

He chuckled at the girl's offer, smiling as he did so.

"Well then, don't mind if I do."

* * *

Somewhere in Vale, a certain White Fang leader was currently walking around in an alley.

He had a mission to do, which fully explained the reason why he was there in the first place.

The White Fang leader, Adam Taurus, was reading something on his scroll device as he walked. Adjusting his Grimm mask so that it wouldn't fall off after reading his orders, the faunus halted himself and stared at the device in his hand.

"So…that woman wants me to kill a student at Beacon Academy," Adam muttered, "Consider it done." He shoved the small device in his pocket, and continued his walk.

"It'll take a few days. Weeks maybe, but I'll get it done," Adam said with a dry chuckle, adjusting his mask again. It had been a while since he was sent to assassinate someone, so it's possible that he might have rusted a bit.

The things which he needed to do were all quite simple, actually.

Find his target, and eliminate said target at all cost.

Well, to be honest, it was easier said than done.

He would have continued his walk, if not for the damn noise that came from his stomach.

Adam gave a sigh. He took out a rather small can from his coat, grumbling about something as he did so.

The bull faunus silently observed the object in his hand for a short while, shaking his head slightly. "Looks like this is the last can of tuna I have left. Can't say this'll fill me up, but it's better than nothing."

In that exact moment, an image of a certain cat faunus made its sudden appearance inside his mind, but said image was immediately pushed aside. He _really_ didn't want that particular memory to bother him while he was still on a mission.

Placing the small can on the ground, Adam proceeded to slash at it with his chokuto, which he called Wilt and Blush. The weapon itself was a fusion between Wilt, a red colored chokuto, and Blush, a rifle, which also serves as a sheath for Wilt.

If a normal person were to see what he did, then they would have thought that Adam had simply unsheathed Wilt right before sheathing it again without even harming the can.

But looks can be deceiving.

Adam leaned his trusted weapon against the wall, and picked the can from the ground. He took the lid off the can and simply tossed it to the side, before pulling out a small plastic spoon from his coat.

It didn't really look all that much, but it was still better than nothing.

However, before Adam could even begin to enjoy his meal, a silver butterfly knife came out of nowhere and secured the can of tuna against the wall right beside him, much to his shock.

Acting on instinct, Adam quickly took his weapon and went into a combat stance, scanning his surroundings to find his attacker. Upon realizing that his meal was officially ruined, his blood began to boil.

That's when he saw his attacker.

A man wearing a yellow hooded cape with black markings. That was all he needed to know.

"State your name, and I'll end this quick."

His attacker raised an eyebrow.

"It's Yuuki Terumi, jackass," he said, rolling his eyes in annoyance, "Listen buddy, I'm starving. So I'll be taking that can away from you, if you don't mind. And I'm sure you won't."

If Adam was surprised by his statement, then he did a pretty good job at hiding it.

Adam tightened his grip around his weapon, eyes narrowing. "If you want your death to be as painless as possible, then I suggest you turn yourself around. Slicing your head off won't be that hard for someone like me."

A wicked grin made its sudden appearance across the man's features. He pulled out a silver butterfly knife from his pocket, and aimed it at Adam's throat. "Are you challenging me?"

"And what if I am?" Adam said, eyeing his opponent.

"Listen, freak with the mask, was it?" Terumi tilted his head slightly, "I just want that can over there. You're seriously going to regret this, not that I even care, of course. Just saying."

"I can say the same to you," Adam muttered under his breath. And with that, he ran towards Terumi.

The wicked grin across Terumi's face grew somewhat wider as his serpentine eyes turned to slits. He tightened his grip around his silver knife, deciding that it would be better to stand his ground.

"Well, I could use a good fight."

* * *

 **That's the end of Phase 16!**

 **Well...a lot happened.**

 **Kval is being targeted, Velvet has a mysterious plan, Adam Taurus made an appearance, and lastly, Terumi picks a fight with the first person he comes in contact with, which is Adam.** **Well, I'm not going to say anything about this. Nothing. Not a single thing.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Phase 16!**

 **See you guys again in the next Phase!**


	17. Phase 17

**Welcome to Phase 17 of Still Alive!**

 **Since you people are like, excited for this Phase, I decided to release it early. No need to thank me, but I should thank you all instead, for your support and all.**

 **I'm not very good with fighting scenes so...uh...I hope this Phase will satisfy some of you readers.**

 **As always, my special thanks goes to Monitor-san and moki-san! Stay awesome you two!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **Enjoy Phase 17!**

* * *

With his target now in range, Adam unsheathed Wilt and slashed upwards with a small smirk. "Begone."

Terumi merely blocked the attack with ease, grinning wickedly as he did so. "Ain't happening!"

They stayed like that for a few seconds. The two fighters stared each other down, and to their surprise, they created some distance from one another by jumping away at the same time.

Terumi pulled out another knife from his pocket and ran up to Adam, all the while dragging said knife along the ground as he ran. He managed to catch Adam by surprise by jumping in the air. He slashed outwards with both of his knives, sending a wave of dark green energy which resembled two serpents.

Slashing the serpents with Wilt to counter the attack, Adam was yet again taken by surprise.

Terumi was already in front of him, and the faunus was kicked away before he could do anything. Grunting in pain after crashing himself against the brick wall, Adam stood back up and went into a combat stance.

"Hyahaha! What the hell was _that_!?" Terumi mocked. He began laughing, but stopped when he felt a sudden pain coming from his chest. He looked down in confusion, and was surprised to see a deep cut across his chest. With a snarl, Terumi looked to where Adam was, but the faunus was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't take me lightly," Adam said from behind, prompting Terumi to whirl himself around. The White Fang leader had his back turned to his opponent, sheathing Wilt slowly as he kept his gaze on Terumi.

"I'm a lot more faster than you think."

Terumi could see the cocky look on the man's face, and it irritated him.

Adam turned himself around and began slashing at Terumi repeatedly from where he was, much to his opponent's surprise.

Gritting his teeth in anger, Terumi managed to parry some of the attacks with his knives, but in the end he still got hurt. Judging by the smirk on Adam's face, it was clear that he was trying to play dirty, and it irritated him further.

With no other choice, Terumi ignored the attacks and dashed forward with his hand extended.

 **"Jagaku!"**

Satisfying himself by looking at Adam's shocked expression, Terumi flung him in the air with Ouroboros. With this, a green serpent made its sudden appearance and slammed the faunus down to the ground.

"Ugh…d-damn…" Adam tried forcing himself up, but his head was then repeatedly stomped on by Terumi. He attempted to slice off his attacker's left leg, but Terumi had other ideas. He gave the bull faunus one last stomp to the head, and proceeded to kick him away.

 **"Just die already!"** Terumi sneered.

Growling as he stood up, Adam came running at Terumi with his hands gripped tightly around his weapon. **"Don't underestimate me."** Lunging forward right before giving Terumi a swift kick to the gut which sent him away, Adam quickly rushed past him with a flurry of slashes.

Once Wilt had been sheathed, Adam gave Terumi another swift kick from behind, sending his body skidding across the ground.

"Ain't…bad…" Terumi coughed. He stood up limply with his gaze on the ground, glaring at Adam afterwards with his serpentine eyes. "But…I guess it's time I take this fight seriously."

"I can't imagine you taking anything seriously," Adam said with a smirk, which made Terumi beyond irritated.

"Damn injuries…" he muttered under his breath and charged towards Adam.

Adam stood his ground and slowly unsheathed his weapon, preparing to counter whatever Terumi was planning. Once close enough, the bull faunus quickly slashed at his foe, but missed when the man sidestepped the attack.

Terumi, instead of using his knives to attack, used one of his legs to casually sweep Adam off his feet. With that, he proceeded to kick him down to the ground with his foot. **"Come on! Scream!"** Terumi attempted to crash his foot down on Adam's head, but the White Fang leader quickly rolled out of the way in time.

"Tch…" Adam stopped his rolling and went up to one knee, aiming Wilt and Blush at Terumi's face. Not too long after that, he squeezed the trigger.

Raising one of his eyebrows in confusion, Terumi didn't have enough time to evade Wilt when it flew straight at his face. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't surprised.

Charging at his opponent and grabbing Wilt while it was still in the air, Adam slashed at the man's chest twice. He then ended his attack with a roundhouse kick to the face, knocking him away.

Panting in slight exhaustion, Adam sheathed Wilt and stared down at his foe, who was groaning in pain. He adjusted his Grimm mask, and said, "I thought you were going to take this seriously, but I guess I was wrong. Although I must admit, I haven't had a decent fight in a while."

"Hehe…hehehe…" Terumi went back up on his feet with a crazed grin. "You…you think I was serious this whole time!?" He focused his gaze on the White Fang leader, eyes wide as he kept grinning.

Adam took a step back and hovered his hand over Wilt's hilt to prepare himself for the worst, eyeing cautiously at Terumi. "From the looks of it, you can't even stand straight," he pointed out.

"Prepare that pathetic ass of yours buddy, because you ain't seen nothing yet." The crazed grin on his face was wider than before. "You really want to see me go all-out?" Terumi played around with one of his knives, but there was a dangerous edge to his voice.

"Seems like I don't have so much of a choice." Adam simply sighed. But unbeknownst to Terumi, he was secretly aiming Wilt and Blush at his face. Once he was sure enough that the aiming was accurate, Adam wasted no time in pulling the trigger.

Terumi was barely able to dodge the flying chokuto as he moved his head to the side, but staggered somewhat when Adam delivered a strong punch to his face. Adam tried to deliver another punch, but Terumi managed to grab his fist midway and kneed him in the gut.

"Ugh!" The White Fang leader grunted in pain, and Terumi continued his attack by performing multiple kicks without showing any signs of stopping. Tightening his grip around his rifle, Adam quickly knocked Terumi away by swinging Blush at his face.

Aiming his rifle at the man's head, Adam growled, "End of the line, bastard."

"Hell it ain't!" Terumi evaded out of the way as Adam pulled the trigger, and he proceeded to send a large green serpent right towards him. Adam managed to move out of the way, but he was then grabbed by the throat and was thrown away. "Heh! Dumbass!"

After crashing his back against a nearby wall, Adam looked above him and saw his weapon, Wilt, which was currently embedded in the wall. The faunus took the chokuto and sheathed it, eyeing Terumi moments later.

 **"I will end this."**

Running a hand through his red hair, Adam rushed past Terumi. He gave the man a deep cut across the chest, before proceeding to do the same thing to his unprotected back.

The faunus was too fast, and Terumi couldn't block any of his attacks, and that left him frustrated. "Stay still!" he growled. Terumi tried to attack when the faunus came in close for another strike, but he unfortunately missed, much to his displeasure. Thus, he ended up receiving another slash from Adam not too long after that.

As Adam went in to land another strike, Terumi prepared himself and widely grinned. He simply leaned back, and nonchalantly flung one of his knives in an outward slash at a diagonal angle, cutting Adam's cheek as results.

Although the attack wasn't that much, but it was safe to say that Terumi was satisfied.

"So, how did it feel!? I got plenty more where that came from!"

"Shit!" Adam hissed as he held his bleeding cheek, before he gave Terumi a sharp glare.

With a growl, Adam quickly slashed at his opponent from the distance. The same attack repeated a few more times, but the look on Terumi's face suddenly made him stop.

"Is that the only damn thing you can do!? Try something else already!"

Terumi glared daggers at Adam with his serpentine eyes, but a small smirk made its sudden appearance across the faunus' lips.

"Too weak to handle?" Adam taunted.

He balled his hands tightly into fists and shouted in pure rage, **"Alright! No more fucking around!"**

Terumi gave his enemy a death glare, while some sort of faint blue energy slowly enveloped his entire frame. His Overdrive was now active, and he grinned.

The man pulled his hood up, revealing his spiky green hair.

 **"You're so dead."**

"What in the world?" Adam took a few steps back, and immediately aimed his rifle at Terumi. The White Fang leader rested his finger on the rifle's trigger, not wanting to shoot just yet.

Terumi gave Adam a wicked grin.

 **"Alright…let's play!"**

With this, Ouroboros appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the man's left arm. He quickly ran towards Adam, laughing all the while.

 **"Hyahaha! I'll kick your ass in no time!"**

Adam went wide-eyed, and he immediately pulled the trigger, only for his target to dodge out of the way. He kept on firing at the hooded maniac with Blush, but the results were the same as earlier.

Adam cursed when a sudden click came from his rifle.

His magazine was empty.

 **"Gasenshō!"**

Terumi slashed his Ouroboros chain down on the White Fang leader. With this, Ouroboros quickly coiled itself around Adam in midair, before it started tightening itself for a few seconds, which then exploded.

 **"Hyahahahaha! Feels good doesn't it!?"**

"Gah!" Adam cried out in pain as he fell. Though, before he could even reach the ground, however, Terumi had other plans.

 **"Orochi Burensen!"**

He lifted his leg up high in the air and brought his foot down on Adam's head, sending his face down to the ground. Terumi proceeded to grind his foot against his victim's head, then gave the faunus a sadistic grin.

 **"Dumbass!"**

Sweeping Adam off the ground, Terumi ended his attack with a backward kick that was trailed by an energy serpent. The backward kick, however, ended up with him pinning his opponent against the brick wall. Taking the opportunity, he decided to grind his foot against Adam's chest.

 **"Hehehe! So, how are you feeling? Are you dead yet? If so, then I'm glad!"**

Moving his head to get a good look at Adam, Terumi smirked slightly upon seeing the sight of his battered and bruised body. The mask that covered the upper part of his face was cracked. No doubt that he was in critical condition.

"Guh…" Adam coughed up once and slowly moved his head to face Terumi. "What in…the name of hell are you?"

 **"Didn't I tell you earlier that you'll regret it?"** Terumi told him with a serious expression, ignoring Adam's question. The faint blue energy around his body began to fade away, but he paid it no mind.

Adam answered Terumi by simply shooting Wilt at his face.

"Gah!" Terumi fell on the ground at the sudden attack, covering his face with one of his hands. "Get back here!" Looking up, he saw Adam in the distance, running away with Wilt and Blush in his hands.

"Tch…he's pretty tough," Terumi grumbled to himself. He slowly stood up, pulling his hood down to shadow his face slightly. "I'll let him go this time. That good for nothing coward."

Terumi sighed and walked away, but then remembered something. He made his way to the brick wall and pulled out his knife, taking the can of tuna.

"Finally! I'm starving!"

Before he could keep the knife in his hand away, Terumi took note of the blade being slightly covered up in tuna. Grinning to himself, he decided to lick the knife.

He winced.

"Ugh! Fuck! This shit is terrible!"

* * *

"Dammit all to hell…"

Adam leaned against the nearest wall for support as he sat down on the ground, placing Wilt and Blush at his side, breathing heavily. After a few moments, he finally managed to calm himself down while his Aura began healing his injuries, albeit slowly.

"Just…who the hell was that guy?" he asked himself.

Adam tried moving his left arm, but the pain it caused quickly made him stop.

"He was powerful…and I can't believe he took my lunch," the White Fang leader growled. He slammed his fist down to the ground, ignoring the pain as he did. "Next time, he won't be so lucky…"

Adam sighed upon realizing something important. The bull faunus pulled out the small scroll device from his pocket, and stared at it.

"Well, looks like I won't be able to assassinate my target…in this condition. I would likely to fail than succeed."

* * *

"Yang!" Kval shouted. He attempted to free himself from the blonde brawler's headlock, who was currently rubbing her knuckles roughly against his head, grinning as she did so. "L-Let me go! Ow! Hey!"

"If you think I'm going to let you off the hook that easily, then think again!" Yang laughed, "Haha! You perverted snake!"

Suddenly, she stopped assaulting his head and thought for a moment.

"Hey, that's actually a pretty good nickname!" Yang couldn't help but smirk at that. "Maybe I should start calling you that from now on…"

"I'm not a pervert! I wasn't even trying to peek on your little sister!" Kval whined, still unable to free himself from the blonde's grip. "I have my limits! Seriously, what do you take me for?"

"Hmm…a perverted snake!" Yang simply gave him a wink, earning a sigh from Kval. Snickering at how he was at her mercy at the moment, she began to continue her assault on his head.

"Ow! H-Hey! Quit it!"

The others who were in the room with them merely stared at the scene.

But not too long after that, they started giggling.

"Why aren't you girls helping me!?" Kval yelled as he tried to reach out to them with one of his hands, but he was ultimately ignored.

* * *

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," Hazama said to Velvet with a kind smile, earning a giggle from the rabbit faunus.

"Let's just hope that my plan will work." Velvet let out a nervous laugh. She scratched her head sheepishly, but then fixed her gaze on Hazama. "Also, sorry for…having you sleep in that alley again. I couldn't think of anything better."

"Don't worry about it. I don't really mind that much," the man said with a chuckle, but he was actually cursing on the inside. Clearing his throat, Hazama gave her a smile and waved. "Tomorrow then. And you have my thanks for helping me."

As they went their separate ways, Velvet bit on her lower lip as her rabbit ears began to droop slightly.

"I…hope Professor Ozpin will approve of this."

* * *

 **That's the end of Phase 17.**

 **What did you guys think?**

 **For once, Terumi did a good thing and prevented Kval from being targeted by Adam.** **Ain't that just great?**

 **I just watched chapter 6 of RWBY Volume 3 earlier today and...well...let's just say Mercury isn't going to end well in my story. Maybe if I'm cruel enough, the same goes to the rest of his little team. Neo included.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading! I'll see you guys later in Phase 18!**

 **...I need a drink.**


	18. Phase 18

**Welcome to Phase 18 of Still Alive!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed your holiday! And I uploaded a short story for Christmas too. Check it out if you're interested!**

 **As always, thank you all for the support. My special thanks goes to Monitor-san and moki-san!**

 **Well, I ain't got much to say so...enjoy Phase 18!**

 **I do not own RWBY or BlazBlue.**

 **Now go and read it like you mean it!**

* * *

Professor Ozpin stares at the young faunus in front of him, and took a few seconds to process all the information that he received from her. Closing his eyes, he then took a long sip of his coffee, and opened his mouth to speak.

"So, you are saying that this man is somehow…related, to Mister Kval?"

Velvet nodded a bit nervously, her gaze on the coffee mug instead of the headmaster. "T-To add things up, Hazama also has a strong resemblance to Kazuma as well," she explained, the rabbit ears on her head drooping slightly.

Professor Ozpin stares at her for a few more seconds, then chuckled.

Velvet finally lands her gaze on him, confusion written on her face. "H-Huh?"

"One question, Miss Scarlatina."

The faunus girl gave her headmaster a smile and nodded, "What is it, Professor Ozpin?"

"Where is he currently staying at?" he asked with a hint of curiosity, narrowing his eyes as he took another long sip of his coffee.

"U-Um…" Velvet smiles sheepishly as she stares at her feet, poking her fingers together as she laughs nervously. "He…has no place to stay at the moment so…I told him that he should stay in the same alley where I've first met him."

Professor Ozpin could have choked on his coffee right then and there, but he managed to avoid doing so by placing the mug back on his desk. Honestly, he was expecting Velvet to tell him that this Hazama person had been secretly sleeping in her team's dorm room the entire time.

He let out a chuckle, and told her, "I never thought a person like you could be so cruel."

"H-Huh?" Velvet stares at him for a moment, but then averts her gaze away from him in embarrassment. "I…I didn't know what to do."

"I was just joking, Miss Scarlatina," Professor Ozpin assured her with a soft smile, taking a quick sip of his coffee moments later. Savoring the taste of his coffee before placing the mug back down on his desk, Professor Ozpin looks at her, and said, "Before I make any decisions however, I need to see this man in person. Do you understand, Miss Scarlatina?"

She nods in response, feeling nervous as she asked, "W-When shall you meet him?"

"Hm…" Professor Ozpin closes his eyes and thought for a moment, but then smiles at her, "Well, we wouldn't want him to wait in that alley for too long now, would we?"

Velvet stares at her headmaster in confusion, but immediately smiled when she pieced it all together. "Y-You want to meet him today?"

"Why yes. And don't worry about classes," he said as he grabs the scroll that was on his desk, adjusting his glasses afterwards. "I'll just tell the others that you're running an errand for me."

"W-Wait, you want me to find him…n-now?" she asked, rather surprised that her headmaster was actually giving her a day without classes.

"Yes, Miss Scarlatina." He gave the rabbit faunus a smile, and said, "We wouldn't want him waiting. Now, run along."

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin," Velvet nodded and ran towards the door, smiling as she did so.

"My pleasure," he murmured to himself when the faunus had left, sighing deeply soon after. "We need new staff members anyway."

* * *

"Tch…that fucking tuna didn't do shit," Terumi grumbles under his breath, walking around in the alleys with his hands shoved down his pockets. "I'm fucking starving. Might as well bite my fingers off as a last resort. They'll grow back anyway."

After a few minutes of walking, he suddenly stops dead in his tracks when a thought came to his mind. He looks up at the sky, and sighed, "I wonder what Relius is doing right now…and that bitch. Tch…those bastards could die for all I care."

Terumi resumed his walking again, then shrugs, "At least that masked freak gave me a good fight yesterday." A wicked grin had suddenly made its way up his face, as he laughed, "The look on his face…hehehe…how I love that look on his miserable face."

"Terumi?" the familiar voice called out to him.

Terumi narrows his eyes as he recognized the voice, and turned himself around. If he was surprised, he didn't show it, instead he only raised one of his eyebrows at the person who he was currently looking at.

"…Hazama?"

"Who else do you think?" The man in the trench coat gave him a sly look, opening one of his eyes to reveal his snake-like slits. "I'm glad to see you, Terumi."

"I'm not," Terumi told him with a blank stare.

"That hurts," Hazama replied with a hint of sarcasm, both of his eyes now opened. "What have you been up to?"

"Beaten the crap out of a random guy and stole his food. Why?" Terumi told him without a care in the world, which caused Hazama to wince slightly at his statement.

"As expected from someone like you," Hazama said as he closes his eyes again, letting out a sigh as he did. "Do you know where we are?"

"I don't have the foggiest idea." Terumi shrugs at the man's question, the look of boredom clearly shown on his features. Hazama massaged his forehead in irritation, and growls, "Could you just stop being a complete ass for once?"

"Why should I?" Terumi retorted with a shit-eating grin, clearly enjoying the irritated look on Hazama's face.

"Why do I even bother?" he asked to himself, but then lands his gaze on the irritating man in front of him. "Terumi, we need to find our way back. Now is not the time for jokes."

"We?" the hooded man narrowed his eyes as he asked.

"Do I really have to repeat myself?" Hazama folded his arms and sighs deeply, "Stop being an asshole, Terumi."

"I ain't working with you," Terumi growls as his serpentine eyes began glowing, earning a confused look from Hazama afterwards.

"What…are you saying?" Hazama opens his eyes and gave Terumi a glare, as he slowly clenched his hands.

"You seriously don't get it? Are you fucking deaf or something!?" Terumi yelled with an annoyed look on his face, snarling as he leaned his head forward. "I work alone dumbass! Get it through that damn thick skull of yours already!" He grinned wickedly at that, and mocks, "Oh wait! It's probably empty for all I know!"

"Watch your words, Terumi," Hazama growls through gritted teeth as his own eyes started glowing. "Keep this up, and I'll have no other choice but to wipe the floor with you."

"You wanna go at it?" Terumi snarled with his head held high and pulls out a knife from his sleeve, loosening his tie with his other hand. He tosses his knife in the air, and catches it as he said, "But I think it'll end up the other way around though. You'll regret it."

"Why the hell are you doing this?" Hazama asked.

"No reason," he responded, shaking his head sideways at that. "I just don't want you messing things up again like you did last time."

"The hell?" Hazama took a step forward, the look of anger clearly shown on his face. "You're blaming me!?"

"Who else do you think I'm blaming?" Terumi crosses his arms with the knife still in his hand, as his eyes turned to menacing slits. "You let your guard down, and was ambushed by that bitch, Trinity. I could have killed Hakumen…but you fucked things up by allowing yourself to get ambushed. Hell, I'm even surprised that you're still alive. Not that I care though."

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," Hazama demanded as his body was now slowly being engulfed in dark green energy.

"Look buddy, normally I wouldn't give a fuck, but since you've been my vessel for who knows how long, I'm going to let you walk away as thanks," Terumi said to him with the same shit-eating grin that he had earlier. "But next time, I'll kill you."

"You little…" Hazama growls as he took a few steps forward, but stops when he saw the serious look on Terumi's face. Although Hazama wouldn't admit it, but he would never be able to beat the bastard when he gets all serious.

"Stand down or I will end you, vessel," Terumi warned, his voice laced with venom. "I know you're still injured, so don't even try."

Hazama can't help but wince at what he said, looking down at the ground with his hands balled up into fists. It was true. His injuries hasn't fully healed yet, and he knew picking a fight with Terumi when he was serious would make things hell of a lot more worse. Not to mention it would also be considered as an act of suicide.

"Curse you, Terumi," he snarled, glaring daggers at the ground.

"Hehehe! Hyahahaha! That's what they all say! You of all people should know that!" he mocked as he turned himself around, shoving the knife in his pocket. "Later!"

When Terumi was finally out of his sight, Hazama immediately kicks the nearest brick wall in anger, and did it over and over again, cursing as he did so.

"I'll kill that bastard! That prick! He'll see…I'll tear that fucking grin off his face…"

* * *

Velvet would be lying if she said that she wasn't happy.

The fact that her plan had probably worked was enough to make her hop around in pure happiness. Now that she had done and succeeded in convincing Professor Ozpin, all that is left to do now was to find Hazama.

"He will be so surprised!" Velvet squealed with delight as she ran towards the same alley where they had first met. Then suddenly, a thought came to her mind, which caused the rabbit faunus to slow herself down a bit.

"But I wonder…if he really is somehow related to Kazuma," she murmured quietly to herself, but then shakes her head sideways with her cheeks puffed out. "No! Now is not the time to think about such things!" Velvet scolds herself as she ran again, this time a lot more faster.

After running for what felt like hours, but was just actually twenty minutes, Velvet finally reached her destination.

"I'm…f-finally…h-here…" Velvet panted with her rabbit ears covering her face. She coughs a few times, feeling rather tired.

She can't say that she didn't regret running around like she was being chased by a bunch of Deathstalkers or something, because right now she felt extremely exhausted. However, exhausted or not, Velvet was still smiling.

The thought of Hazama working as a staff member in Beacon Academy made her feel all happy inside. Not to mention that she was also blushing, but Velvet quickly shook her head and pushed those thoughts aside.

"Alright! Time to find him," Velvet told herself with a determined expression as she entered the dark alley. Looking around for a few moments, she calls out, "Hazama?"

No response.

"Hm?" Velvet scratches the back her neck with a confused expression. "He's…not here?" The faunus girl looks to the side, and took notice of the damaged spot on the brick wall.

"Huh?" She narrows her eyes at the damaged spot, not noticing a certain someone was currently sneaking up on her from behind.

"Here I am!"

"Kyah!" Velvet let out a scream, as she whirled herself around and kicks the person in the groin with her eyes shut. Knowing that she was deadly in the battlefield when using her legs, Velvet went all-out with her kick.

"My eggs!" Hazama cried out in pain as he fell to his knees, covering his private area with both hands. "T-That…was not what I expected…"

"H-Hazama!?" Velvet shouts in shock with her eyes wide, covering her mouth with one of her hands afterwards. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you! Please forgive me!"

"M-My fault…totally my fault," the man told her with a pained smile, and grunts in pain as he fell to his side, still covering his private area. "T-That was one hell of a kick…"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Velvet kept on apologizing with her eyes tightly shut, now on the verge of tears.

"D-Don't cry! I'm alright!" Hazama quickly assured her as he stood up, holding in the pain while his legs were trembling slightly. "I'm f-fine. A-At least I think I am…"

"Y-You scared me too…" Velvet mumbled to herself as she wipes away her tears, earning a sigh from Hazama.

"I said it was my fault…" the man trailed off as he looks to the side, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "A-Anyway, did it work?"

At this, Velvet's eyes widen, and she grins at him. "It did! And my headmaster wants to meet you!" she said excitedly, prompting Hazama to whip his head towards her with a surprised look on his features, eyes slightly open.

"Wait, really!? When!?" he asked, smiling as he did.

"Today!" Velvet answered happily, clearly as exited as he was.

"I was hoping you'd say that! No longer am I going to sleep in this dump!" he yells out in happiness. "Finally!"

Velvet grabbed his wrist and drags him out of the alley. "Then let's go, Hazama!" she said, smiling at him.

"O-Ow! Wait! Slow down a bit!" Hazama told her as he was being dragged, wincing slightly in pain. "I-I still can't control my legs that well because of that kick earlier!"

* * *

"Cinder, what now?" Emerald asked somewhat worriedly, and flinched when she saw Cinder raised one of her hands up.

"I'm still thinking," Cinder said with her eyes closed as she sat herself on her bed, and sighed. "This…will be difficult."

"But still, I'm quite surprised that someone was able to beat the crap out of Adam Taurus. That guy was one of the top guys in the White Fang," Mercury said while he was playing a game on his scroll, clicking his tongue in annoyance when Emerald stomped on his foot.

Glaring at her partner, Emerald then focuses her attention on Cinder, "Why not let us do it?"

Cinder snaps her eyes open and gave the younger girl a glare, prompting said girl to avert her gaze elsewhere.

"No. I shall not allow that."

"Well, what do we do?" Mercury asked, turning his scroll off and placing it on the desk. "We can't have him running around. That guy may not look like it, but he's pretty sharp."

"We already know that," Emerald told him with a roll of her eyes.

He shrugs, "Just saying."

Standing up, Cinder slowly made her way towards the door as she was massaging her forehead, and then said, "I'll think of something soon enough."

"We'll just stay here then," Mercury told her with a casual smile.

* * *

"The look on his face! Hahaha! It was priceless!" Terumi laughs loudly at that, but then stopped himself when a large warehouse in the distance caught his full attention. "Hm?"

He took a moment to examine the building, leaning his head forward as he did so.

From the looks of things, the warehouse was rather large, but that wasn't the actual reason why it had caught his attention. The actual reason however, was because the man who was currently guarding the entrance was wearing a white mask.

Speaking of which, the mask reminded him of the person who he had fought yesterday.

Terumi narrows his eyes, and decided to observe the warehouse for a few minutes. But after what felt like forever, Terumi decided to leave, but immediately changes his mind when he saw two people heading their way towards the entrance of the warehouse.

The man at the entrance gave them a nod, before handing each of them a mask that resembled a lot like his own. Once the two had placed the masks over their faces, they looks at each other and nodded, entering the warehouse afterwards.

"Well, I think I've made a discovery," Terumi told himself with a cruel grin, his eyes turning to slits. "I think I'm going to have a little fun…hehehe…"

* * *

 **Well...that was a thing with Hazama and Terumi. Also, this was the very first Phase that I've written without having Kval in it.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the Phase. Oh, and go check out this picture that I've made in DeviantArt!**

 **warnerbroswilecoyote . deviantart . com** **/ art / BlazBlue - X - RWBY - 552913541**

 **Tell me what you think in the review...if you guys want to.**

 **I'll see you guys later in Phase 19!**


	19. Phase 19

**Welcome to Phase 19 of Still Alive!**

 **I really never would've thought that I would make it this far. Thank you everyone! Special thanks goes to Monitor-san and moki-san!**

 **Well then, here you go! I hope you guys enjoy Phase 19!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **Now go and read!**

"Everything will be fine. Everything will be fine," Velvet chanted as she tried to calm herself down.

Earlier, after giving him the directions to where Professor Ozpin's office would be, Hazama had told her to stay near the statue and that he would be back in about forty minutes.

"I wonder if he's doing okay…a-and it's already passed forty minutes! He better be doing okay!"

Velvet had been waiting at the statue in the courtyard for nearly an hour now, and Hazama still hasn't appeared yet. Knowing Professor Ozpin, he could've changed his mind for all she knew.

Checking the time on her scroll, Velvet then began to pace around the statue, getting more and more worried as seconds passed by. However, while she was deep in thought and not paying attention to her surroundings, she immediately cries out in pain when a certain someone had decided to pull at one of her rabbit ears.

"Ow! It hurts!"

"What the hell are you pacing around for? Have you gone rabid or something?" the familiar voice mocked. Velvet looks up at her attacker, now on the verge of tears, "C-Cardin!? What are you doing!?"

"Don't tell me that you've forgotten all about me…you freak," he mocked again as he tugged forcefully at her ear, earning a painful yelp from Velvet. "I've had enough of that green-haired weirdo! But since he's not here, I'll just mess around with you instead."

"Haven't you had enough already!?" Velvet shouts at him with her eyes tightly shut, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why are you always doing this to me!?"

"Don't talk back to me, freak." He tugs at her ear again, a bit harder this time, "I know I'm going to get my ass kicked later, but what the hell right?" The tall boy grins cruelly, and laughs, "Might as well enjoy this while I still can."

"L-Let me go!" Velvet yells at him as she tried to free herself from the taller boy's grip, "I-I have something important that I should be doing!"

"Something important to do? Like what? Pacing around like a complete idiot?" Cardin mocked her as he narrowed his eyes, loosening his grip slightly. "You can do all that crap later when I'm done with you!"

"I said let me go!" she yelled out in frustration.

"Well, what are you gonna do about it then?" Cardin leans his head forward as he asked, narrowing his eyes as he did so. "Go on. Spit it out you dumb animal!"

The next thing he knew, he was kicked to the ground by a man wearing a trench coat.

"This little lady right here won't do anything," the person said with his expression calm, pulling out his hands from his pockets as he shrugged, "but I certainly will."

Growling as he went back up on his feet, Cardin whirls himself around and gave the person a glare, but then stares at said person in utter confusion.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Where are your manners?" the man asked him, and sighed when he received no answer. "I am Professor Hazama…you little runt," Hazama said that last part with a small smirk.

At this, Velvet stares at Hazama with widen eyes, and immediately hugs him tightly with a happy expression. "You did it! I knew you could do it!" she exclaims, earning a smile from Hazama as he gave her a soft pat on the head. She winced when his hand made contact with one of her rabbit ears. "O-Ow!"

"Hm?" Pulling his hand away, Hazama turns his full attention to Cardin, and saw the pathetic tall boy glaring at him. "Why the face?"

"What did you just call me?" Cardin growled, ignoring Hazama's question.

"My apologies, I can't really hear you," Hazama said as he shoves his hands in his pockets, and leans his head forward as a smirk came to his features, "Care to run that by me again?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Cardin said threateningly as he took a step forward, but immediately stops himself when Hazama opened his eyes, revealing his snake-like slits. "W-What…the hell?"

"Y-Your...your eyes..." Velvet whispered with widened eyes, which went fully unnoticed.

"Listen boy," Hazama began with a smirk, the tone in his voice making both Cardin and Velvet feel uneasy all of a sudden. "I suggest you walk away right now and do whatever the crap tons of shit that you do on your daily basis."

Velvet was about to step in, but decided against it upon seeing the expression displayed across Hazama's face.

"Believe me when I say this, but you're one of the most pathetic people that I've ever encountered. Hell, you're in my shit list already. Also, not to mention that your manners are crap, and you enjoy yourself by harming other students, but you even dared to threaten your own professor. Are you seriously that retarded?"

Cardin took a step back, the look of shock splattered across his face. "B-But I…"

"Shut your trap! I'm talking here!" Hazama yells out in irritation, prompting both Cardin and Velvet to flinch slightly. The smirk on his face was long gone.

"You listen to me and you listen well. If I see you harming other students again," he points his thumb over at Velvet, causing said girl to flinch again. "especially her, then I'm going to enjoy forcing my arm inside that pathetic excuse of a mouth that you have there and rip out your fucking spine before gutting you up like a rotting fish."

Both of the students stares at him in complete silence, currently in a state of shock.

Closing his eyes and giving Cardin a smile, Hazama tilts his head slightly, "Now, do I make myself clear?"

Cardin's entire face was pale, as he stuttered, "I-I…uh…"

Hazama opens his eyes again before yelling, "You pathetic piece of crap! Get out of here! Scram!"

Face slightly turning green, the tall boy turns himself around and ran away, covering his mouth with one of his hands as he did.

"Well, there goes all of my stress for today," the man in the trench coat muttered under his breath, which was then followed by a short sigh.

With Cardin out of her sight, Velvet turns her attention towards Hazama, the look of worry clearly shown on her face. "Um…Hazama, a-are you f-feeling alright?" she asked, not moving away from her current spot.

"I'm fine. Today has been stressing me out," he calmly said, then turns to Velvet with a wide and happy grin, "By the way, I got the job!"

"W-Were you…being serious back there?" Velvet asked, a bit frightened as she took a step away from him.

"I was just trying to scare him away, so don't worry," Hazama assured her, chuckling when he saw the faunus letting out a sigh of relief. "However, if he doesn't behave, then I guess I'll have no other choice."

"H-Huh!?" Velvet immediately whips her head towards him with her eyes wide open.

"I was just pulling your chain there," Hazama said to her with a smile, and shook his head sideways. "No need to get all serious."

Velvet gave him a glare, which was rather cute, before closing her eyes as she looks away with her arms folded. "Not funny!"

"Now you're just being childish," he sighs, smiling again moments later. "Now then, mind showing me around?"

Velvet snaps her eyes open and gave him an excited look, grabbing his wrist soon after. "Let's go!" she exclaimed as she started dragging him away from the statue.

"H-Hey! I can walk on my own!" Hazama quickly told her, but was unfortunately ignored.

"So, what did Professor Ozpin told you?" the faunus girl asked as she turns her head around, still dragging him.

"Eh?" He thought for a moment, before answering, "Well, he asked me a lot of questions."

"Questions such as?" Velvet added.

"Where I'm from and all that. The usual things," Hazama explains with a shrug, "It wasn't that hard to be honest. Other than that, the old man seemed to really love his coffee. A lot."

"D-Don't call him that!" she told Hazama with a huff, but then suddenly stops in her tracks. "Did Professor Ozpin…mention anyone to you?"

Hazama gave her a puzzled look, raising an eyebrow as he did so. "No, I don't think he did."

The young faunus stares at him for a couple of seconds, and then averts her gaze away moments later with a nervous look on her features, "Hey, before I show you around…I…I want you to meet someone."

"Your boyfriend?" asked Hazama, causing the second year student to blush madly at his question.

Shaking her head sideways, she then stomps her foot on the ground with her cheeks puffed out, her blush still visible. "I-I don't have a boyfriend!"

"I was just kidding," Hazama assured her, which earned him a weak punch on the shoulder from Velvet. "O-Ow! Hey!"

"Stop teasing me!" Velvet yells at him with her eyes closed, sighing afterwards. "Now, this person is important," she explains, opening her eyes slowly as she lands her gaze on him, "It's…really important."

"Well, if it's that important to you…" Hazama let out a sigh, but then gave the young faunus a small smile, "…then let's go meet him."

Smiling brightly before hopping around the man in excitement, Velvet immediately grabs his arm and began dragging him again. "Let's go!"

"H-Hey! Wait! I can still walk!" Hazama reminded her, and held the fedora on his head with one of his hands. "H-How many times do I have to tell you!?"

"That man…is clearly not what he seems to be."

Glynda lands her gaze on Ozpin, narrowing her eyes as she did so. "I felt it too…"

"Although he doesn't look like it, but he's clearly dangerous," Professor Ozpin stated as he stares out the large window, both of his hands behind his back. Adjusting her glasses before sighing, Glynda decided to ask, "Tell me, Ozpin. Why did you allow a dangerous man such as him to work alongside us?"

"We're all dangerous here, Glynda," he simply replied, chuckling as he turns himself around, "Besides, having an extra hand in combat classes wouldn't hurt." Then suddenly, the man's expression became serious, "Also, he might be able to track them down. But make sure you keep an eye on him."

"I will," she assured him with a nod.

"Now that's taken care of, would you care for a friendly game of chess?" Professor Ozpin asked with a smile, earning a sigh from Glynda. "Don't worry. I'll set it up for us."

Bullets flew everywhere, but not even one managed to hit their target.

In the middle of the chaos, a man wearing a yellow hooded cape was currently having the time of his life by slaughtering every single member of the White Fang that he could get his hands on, without breaking a single sweat while doing so.

"Kill him!" yelled one of the White Fang soldiers as he was busy shooting at his target, but was sent crashing against the wall when his rifle suddenly went dry.

"Hyahaha! You guys can't even touch me!" Terumi stabs a White Fang thug in the chest before kicking him away, and saw more of them aiming their guns at him. He dodges every single bullet that was shot at him with ease, then added, "This is too easy!"

"Die!" a faunus roared from behind as he swung his blade down, but the attack was unfortunately blocked by Terumi's knife. "W-What!? But I had you!"

"Surprise!" Terumi grins wickedly as he stabs the faunus in the chest, causing said faunus to cry out in agony. "Hahaha! Music to my ears! Keep up the good work!" he said and sent his victim up in the air with an uppercut, slamming him back down to the ground with Ouroboros afterwards. "This is so pathetic! You're pathetic! Hyahaha!"

"You bastard!" Another White Fang soldier, this time a female, charges at Terumi from behind, planning on stabbing the man with her combat knife.

Terumi simply turns around and swung his knife upwards, effectively shattering the mask that was covering the upper part of the female's face in pieces, knocking said female on her back in the process.

"Guh!" she cries out, covering her face with one of her hands in pain. "H-How…how can a single human do this? Y-You scum!"

"Well then, let me tell you something…you worthless bitch…" Terumi lifts his foot up, and crashes it back down on the female's gut, causing her to cry out in complete pain.

"I ain't human."

"H-He's in there," Velvet whispered, her expression serious.

Hazama stares at her for a couple of seconds, then at the door, staring at her again not too long after that, "In there? Are you sure?"

She nods, staring at the man in confusion when she saw him scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"Is it…really that important?" Hazama looks to the side as he asked.

"Yes, it is," Velvet told him as she took a step towards him.

"I know it is but…I think I have second thoughts about doing this. Having to meet some random guy that I haven't even met before. Not to mention that I'm also…not from around here," Hazama said nervously, looking at the young faunus with only one of his eyes open.

Velvet frowned a bit, and then started flailing her arms around. "You have to meet him! It's really important!" she yelled, prompting the man to flinch slightly at how loud she was.

"W-Why is it so important to you?" he asked as he nervously scratches his cheek.

"I…I can't really explain it because…" Velvet poked her fingers together, the rabbit ears on her head drooping slightly, "…it's too complicated."

"It…it is?" The man in the trench coat tilts his head to the side, earning a deep sigh from Velvet. "What?"

"You're making this harder for the both of us!" she told him.

"I-I am doing nothing of the sort!" Hazama stuttered as he crosses his arms, looking to the side nervously.

"You're just buying yourself time! It's clearly obvious!"

"I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Now you're being a meanie!"

"H-Hey! I wasn't even trying to!"

"Well you're being a meanie right now!"

Before their argument could get anymore further, the door was then immediately swung open, revealing Kval with Team RWBY behind him. Both Velvet and Hazama stares at them with nervous looks on their faces.

"Velvet, we can clearly hear you from inside. Team JNPR probably heard you as well," Kval told her as he raised an eyebrow, and froze when he landed his gaze on Hazama, along with the rest of Team RWBY. Hazama was no different, as Velvet stood there awkwardly as she stares at them.

Everyone stayed like that for a few seconds.

When the silence was starting to get a bit uncomfortable, Yang points at Hazama and decided to shout the first thing that came to her mind.

"Twins!"

 **I guess Yang...will always be Yang. I swear, the blonde can't even take things seriously at times...**

 **By the way, PersonaQeminod1 can thank me later.**

 **Well, I guess that's a wrap. And I hope that you guys enjoyed it! Thanks for reading, as always!**

 **I'll see you guys again later in Phase 20!**


	20. Phase 20

**Welcome to Phase 20 of Still Alive!**

 **I can't believe it. I've reached 20 Phases! Yay to that!**

 **By the way, this Phase was kinda rushed so...yeah. I hope you'll enjoy it.**

 **But seriously, I've reached 20 Phases! My thanks goes to you guys for sticking with me!**

 **Now, on with the story!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

* * *

"Yang!"

Ruby glared at her big sister, along with Weiss and Blake.

Yang held up her hands with a quick shake of her head. "It's not my fault! That was literally the first thing that came to mind!"

"W-Who…are you?" Kval stared at Hazama, wide-eyed.

The man in the trench coat didn't answer. Instead, he returned the stare and said, "This…is impossible. Terumi said that you were destroyed."

The look of horror splattered across Kval's face upon hearing the name, but it was then immediately replaced with the look of anger. One second was all it took for him to piece things all together.

"You're Terumi's new vessel!?"

And with that, the younger vessel charged at Hazama in blind rage.

* * *

"Just what the hell is going on out there?" Jaune asked aloud as he made his way towards the door, before jumping at the sight of said door being knocked down to the ground. "What on Remnant!?"

"Watch it! This is the only coat I got!" Hazama yelled, pinned down to the ground by Kval. With a growl, he grabbed the boy's face and pushed him away.

Kval went up to his feet in a matter of seconds and attempted to stomp on Hazama's head, only to miss when the man rolled out of the way.

Without a second to waste, the artificial human went up and threw a punch at the brat's face. Kval dodged the punch, however, and Hazama was then knocked to the ground once more when a kick was sent to his side. But despite that, he took the chance and swept the younger vessel off his feet.

"You better know who you're dealing with. I can easily wipe the floor with you, brat," Hazama warned.

Kval pushed himself off the floor, and proceeded to give Hazama a sharp glare. "I was once a member of the Mage's Guild. I am the founder of both Sector Seven _and_ the NOL. I was one of the Six Heroes who defeated the Black Beast. I killed Nine…and Trinity."

Hazama clicked his tongue, while the others were rendered speechless.

"You're the one who should know who you're dealing with, not me," Kval added.

"You're pretty confident for an old vessel," Hazama muttered. Just then, three green serpents appeared behind him, much to everyone's shock.

Kval followed his foe's example and summoned his own serpents, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Don't expect me to show mercy."

If Hazama was surprised at the sight of the boy's serpents, then he did a pretty good job at hiding it. "You're going to regret this."

"I should say the same to you," Kval said.

And with that, the two vessels lunged themselves towards one another, along with their serpents.

"Stop!"

"No more fighting!"

Ruby held Kval in place by wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, while Velvet did the same with Hazama. The two vessels looked down at their holders for a brief moment, before sighing in unison when they noticed the two girls on the verge of tears.

Hazama and Kval gave each other a glare for a full three seconds, before looking away with annoyed looks across their faces. The green serpents which the two had summoned faded away, much to everyone's relief.

The others landed their eyes on Ruby and Velvet, no doubt that they were shocked at what the two had accomplished.

"Ruby…t-that was just…" Yang stammered. She stared at her little sister, and proceeded to shake her head afterwards in order to clear her mind. "A-Alright, let's not kill each other now," Yang quickly added, focusing her gaze on the man in the trench coat. "Just…who are you?"

"I am Professor Hazama. It's my first day on the job," Hazama explained, shocking almost everyone. He then looked to Velvet, and cracked an eye open when she pouted at him. "Can you let go of me now?"

"I will. Just…promise me that you won't cause trouble." Velvet pleaded. Her rabbit ears drooped, and Hazama winced at the sight. "And please don't hurt Kazuma. He's my friend."

"Fine," muttered the artificial human, looking to the side as he grumbled something under his breath.

"You're…a new professor?" Pyrrha asked. She kept staring at him, as she was still on high alert after seeing the whole fight from earlier.

"Why yes. It is a pleasure to meet you." The man nodded and flashed the young girl a small smile.

"Kazuma," Jaune massaged his forehead. "you _do_ realize that you've just knocked down our door, right?" The blond boy grumbled something to himself, head shaking. "Things I do as a team leader…"

Kval looked over at Jaune, and redirected his gaze over at the damaged door which was on the ground. Three seconds flew by, and he smiled a sheepish smile. "O-Oh. Well…I'm sorry about that."

"We'll fix it," Ren announced, his arms folding. "This is nothing compared to the things Nora does when she's bored, so we're pretty much used to things like this."

"Hey!" Nora stomped her foot, glaring at her childhood friend. "Meanie!"

"I'm sorry," Ren shrugged apologetically. "but it's the truth."

Clearing his throat, Hazama opened his eyes and landed them on Kval. They turned to slits. "Alright. You and I. Outside. We are going to have a little chat."

"Gladly," Kval said with his own eyes turning to slits. He locked eyes with Hazama for a short while, before redirecting his gaze to Ruby, smiling slightly. "Ruby, you can let go of me now."

"I will, but you have to promise me that you'll behave," Ruby begged. "And I hate liars!"

"I promise," Kval assured. He gave her a soft pat on the head, prompting the girl to finally let him go.

Blake scanned the man from head to toe, eyes narrowing. "I'm going to accompany Kazuma, whether you like it or not. I can't risk leaving him alone with someone like you."

Weiss nodded. "I agree with Blake, which means that I will be accompanying my teammate as well."

"Great!" exclaimed the older vessel, faking a smile all the while. "Why not just bring everyone while we're at it?" he suggested sarcastically, and immediately wished he hadn't.

"That's a great idea!" Yang exclaimed, prompting the others to nod their heads in agreement. "Then it's settled!"

Hazama stared at each and every one of them, left eye twitching.

* * *

"You guys are so pathetic."

Terumi released a sigh, nonchalantly playing around with his butterfly knife while countless of dead bodies were littered around him in a gruesome manner. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

Terumi shoved his hands inside his pockets and began to walk away, but narrowed his eyes when he sensed something moving around behind him. He turned his head around, and was met with the sight of a short girl wearing a white jacket with pink interior. She was currently examining him, looking all serious.

The short lady had brown pants and gray boots with very high heels. Under her jacket was a black corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. She also had a parasol in her hands, and her hair color somehow reminded him of an ice cream.

"What are you looking at, shorty?"

The short lady gave him a sharp glare, gripping her parasol tightly.

"What's wrong, shorty? You mute or something?" Terumi asked somewhat nonchalantly, looking at her with a bored expression.

She kept glaring at him, not moving away from her spot.

Silence filled the cold air.

"You're a fucking ice cream," Terumi said with a small smirk.

Gritting her teeth, the short girl wasted no time in lunging herself straight towards Terumi, which caused a twisted grin to appear across the man's face. He pulled out a knife from his pocket and went into a fighting stance.

"Hehe! Come at me, you little brat!"

* * *

"Nice room you have here," Hazama complimented as he scanned Team RWBY's dorm room. However, the moment his eyes landed on the two bunk beds, he immediately wished that he could somehow take his words back. The man proceeded to look around further, and kept scratching his nose for some odd reason. "Damn it…"

"Why is Team JNPR here?" Blake whispered into Kval's ear, looking at Jaune and the rest of his team from the corner of her eyes. "They don't know you're secret…do they?"

"I told them all about it yesterday," Kval said with a shrug, earning a blank stare from the cat faunus moments later. He returned the stare, albeit nervously, and asked, "W-What?"

"It's nothing. You're always so…truthful, about yourself." Blake sighed, shaking her head as a small smile graced her lips. "Forget it."

Kval chuckled, turning his attention towards Hazama shortly after. He gave the other vessel a nod, glaring at him while doing so. "Now, what do you want?" he harshly asked. "And just so you know, I don't trust you."

"I don't care either way." Hazama rolled his eyes. "A lot of things has happened while you were gone, and I don't think you are going to be happy upon receiving the news," he explained, making himself comfortable on a nearby chair.

"What do you mean by that?" Kval inquired.

"It's really hard to explain, and at the same time complicated-" The artificial human winced upon hearing a noise of something being crunched, which came from Ruby. He turned to her, and saw that she was currently munching on a small chocolate chip cookie. "Do you mind?"

"Huh?" Ruby stopped her munching and looked to Hazama, and then redirected her gaze to the floor with her face flushed in embarrassment. "O-Oops…"

"Just let her have her cookies." Kval glared at Hazama as he placed his hand on the top of Ruby's head, not taking note of the bright blush which was visible across the girl's face.

"Whatever," Hazama muttered, somewhat annoyed by this.

"Why not get Terumi out here?" Kval growled, "I'll kill him, and I wouldn't mind killing you in the process." He balled his hands tightly into fists, rage boiling up inside of him. However, he was calmed down almost instantly when Ruby tugged at his sleeve.

"Kazuma, s-stop it. Y-You're scaring us," Ruby said to him with a bit of fear in her voice, eyes not meeting his. "Just calm down, okay? I…I don't like seeing you acting like this."

Letting those words sink in, Kval looked to his friends and took note of how uncomfortable and scared they were, obiviously at the sight of his violent behavior. Heck, even Nora was scared, and she _rarely_ get scared.

"I…I lost myself for a second there, and for that, I apologize." Kval scratched his head, eyes downcast. "I don't know what came over me."

Silence filled the air.

"I can't do that," Hazama said all of a sudden with a frown, which earned himself puzzled looks from almost everyone in the room.

"Can't do what?" Blake asked, eyes narrowing.

Hazama cracked open an eye, facing Blake. "Terumi doesn't need me as a vessel anymore. The bastard has his own body now."

Kval went wide-eyed, along with Blake and the others. "What!? How did that happen!?"

"Well, as you can see…" Hazama trailed off. He took his fedora off of his head and set it down onto a nearby desk. "…he does not need me anymore, since I pretty much screwed up our plan and all that. However, I don't know how he managed to get himself a body. I'm still having trouble with that one."

Kval glared at him. "What…is he up to?"

"No idea," Hazama replied while leaning back in his chair. "He didn't really say much earlier today." The next thing he knew, he had a silver knife being held near his throat.

"He's…here?" the younger vessel asked with his eyes widened in utter horror.

"Kazuma, c-calm down." Ruby carefully grabbed his arm and pulled him away. "Put the knife away…"

"H-He's…here," Kval repeated once more, eyes downcast.

Blake looked to Kval, and the sight of him acting like that made her heart break. The poor soul had went through enough pain in his life, and she couldn't afford to watch him go through more. It was wrong on so many levels.

"You better believe it," Hazama muttered. "There is no use denying about it."

Blake wasted no time in aiming Gambol Shroud to Hazama's head, much to everyone's surprise and shock. She gave the vessel a sharp stare. "And why should we trust you? You could be lying for all we know."

"Killing one of the staff members of this academy isn't going to do you any good. Blake, was it?" He shrugged. "Besides, I want him dead as well."

"Professor Hazama, you do know that you're telling all this to first year students, right?" Jaune asked somewhat nervously.

"Velvet is a second year student, and I see no harm in sharing this small piece of information with a bunch of kids," Hazama explained with a roll of his eyes, right before noticing the blank looks the others were giving him. "What?"

"You're really…carefree about all this," Weiss said.

"I'm a carefree type of guy." He smirked at the heiress. "By the way, you got too much white on you."

"Excuse me!?" the heiress exclaimed with an icy glare, balling up her hands into fists.

"Scary," Hazama said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but grunted in pain when Velvet sent a kick to his shin. "Ow!"

"Don't provoke people!" Velvet scolded him, "I don't want you to make people vomit on their shoes again just like you did with Cardin earlier…"

Everyone in the room gave Velvet questioning looks, but they were unfortunately ignored.

"He deserved it, and I have no regrets." Hazama smirked, shrugging his shoulders shortly after. He focused his attention to Kval, and his expression turned serious. "Now, I don't like you, and you definitely don't like me. I get that. But if we want Terumi dead, then I suggest…we work together on this."

"No choice then," Kval muttered.

"Hey! This is murder that you're both planning!" Weiss yelled out at the two vessels.

"Y-Yeah!" Jaune exclaimed.

"Knowing him, he's probably on a killing spree at this very moment." Hazama ignored the horrified looks they gave him, and added, "It's better to kill him before it's too late. And the fact that I don't know what he is planning bothers me…to no end."

"Keep in mind that I'll be watching you." Kval folded his arms. "If I find out that you're lying, then I won't hesitate to take you down."

"Good, and by the way…" Hazama scratched his nose, and sneezed. "…i-is there a cat in here?" His nose began to turn red, and not too long after that, he started coughing. "I'm allergic to cats, and my nose has been acting up ever since I got here."

"You're allergic…to cats?" Kval tilted his head, bewildered.

All eyes landed on Blake, prompting her to flinch slightly at the attention she was receiving. She immediately covered her exposed cat ears with her hands, eyes downcast with her face flushed. "This was my last day too…" she grumbled under her breath, and proceeded to send Kval a sharp glare.

"S-Sorry…" The young vessel grinned sheepishly.

"S-So it's you. I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but can you please stay away from me?" Hazama took a few steps back, before hiding himself behind Velvet. He peeked his head over the girl's shoulder. "Thanks."

"I…uh…" Blake stared at the man with her eyes narrowed, that is until Yang decided to give her a push forward. "Yang!? What are you doing!?"

"H-Hey!" Hazama yelled. He took a step back while holding onto Velvet, not noticing the blush on her face. "S-Stay away from me! Stay!" He turned his head to the side and started coughing. "D-Dammit!"

"It was an accident," Yang said to her partner, grinning mischievously. "My hands slipped."

"Yang! Stop it!" Ruby yelled.

Kval looked to his teammates with a small smile, before a thought crossed his mind. He landed his gaze on Hazama, eyes narrowing. "How do you know about me?"

Coughing for a few more times with Velvet patting at his back for support, Hazama turned to Kval and muttered, "Terumi…told me about you…"

* * *

Somewhere in the Emerald Forest, a large sphere of purple energy made its sudden appearance. The ball of energy hovered just inches off the ground, right before it exploded a few seconds later, creating a medium-sized crater in the process.

Once the smoke had been cleared, it revealed that a man in blue clothing was currently lying in the middle of the crater. He had short, stylish blond hair, green eyes and wore a jolting sapphire colored jacket with a red lining and very long, detached sleeves.

The man, Jin Kisaragi, slowly went up to his feet, and growled. "That…that cat bitch! How dare she interrupts me! I almost had him!" He slashed the nearest tree he could find in half with his weapon, which was called Yukianesa. "I'll kill her!"

Jin turned his attention to another nearby tree and began stabbing it multiple times with Yukianesa. "When I find that bitch, I'm going to slice her pathetic head off! I swear!"

Minutes flew by, as more trees were harmed. But after a while, things finally got quiet.

Jin gave a frustrated sigh when he was done calming himself down, and proceeded to glare at one of the damaged trees in front of him.

"Next time…"

Without warning, Jin felt a presence behind him. Whirling himself around, he then drew Yukianesa and began to slash around wildly.

 **"Sekkajin!"**

Sheathing his blade, Jin opened his eyes to examine the poor thing that had tried to sneak up on him. He narrowed his eyes at his attacker, which was a Beowolf, before it fell down on its back, obviously dead.

"The hell…is this?" Jin examined the dead creature further, scanning his surroundings shortly after. "No. Better yet, where the hell am I?"

He felt as though he was being watched. Because of that, he hovered his hand just over the hilt of his blade, and entered a fighting stance.

"Whatever this thing was…it wasn't alone."

* * *

 **Well, that was a bit unexpected. I'll be taking that 1 week break now, along with an extra few days because I need to prepare myself for the New Year.**

 **I am not a dick.**

 **Thank you for the support guys. I wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't for any of you awesome readers.**

 **Well I ain't got much to say, so I guess I'll see you guys again later in Phase 21.**

 **By the way, Happy New Year!**


	21. Phase 21

**Welcome to Phase 21 of Still Alive!**

 **My apologies for the late update.**

 **I might have rusted again...yeah. And thank you so much for your continued support! I'm seriously happy at the amount of followers and favorites I'm getting! Not to mention the views! Yay!**

 **Well, time for you guys to read!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

* * *

"Kokonoe! You fucking bitch!"

The mad scientist could only stare at the man in front of her with one of her eyebrows raised, and simply replied with, "Is that how you thank me for saving your ass back there?"

The man in the red jacket, who was known as Ragna the Bloodedge, with an extremely large price on his head for being a serious threat to the NOL, grabbed Kokonoe's collar and snarled. "What did you do to him!? What did you do to Jin!?"

"Beats me," she bluntly replied, staring back at the man with her expression calm. The cat beastkin knew that Ragna could easily rip her to shreds with Blood-Scythe right then and there, but she also knew that he wouldn't even if he wanted to.

"I'm going to ask you one more time." He gave Kokonoe a murderous look, tightening his grip around her collar while he was at it. "What…did you do to him?"

Kokonoe closed her eyes and scratched her head, sighing shortly after. "I simply teleported him away."

Ragna seemed slightly calmer than he was before upon hearing that his insane brother was still alive somewhere, but he wasn't done with the scientist just yet.

"Where?" he asked.

"I don't know," she simply told him.

"What the actual fuck!?" Ragna shouted in pure rage, his other hand reaching for Blood-Scythe.

"Shut the hell up! I typed in some random coordinates!" Kokonoe retorted, her face finally showing signs of anger. "I was panicked, you understand!?"

Ragna pushed the scientist away roughly. "Explain yourself," he growled.

"Are you an idiot? The Black Beast could've appeared for all we know if that Jin bastard managed to kill you," she explained, glaring at him as she did so. "You got that?"

Ragna glared at her for a few seconds, before looking away with his eyes closed. "Tch!"

"I don't know how your Azure Grimoire managed to stabilize itself, but what I _do_ know is that Jin was going to slice your head off when you were at your weakened state." Kokonoe adjusted her glasses and grabbed a blue lollipop from her desk, and proceeded to place it inside her mouth. "We can't risk anyone killing you after witnessing your Azure Grimoire going berserk like that."

"I get it already!" Ragna yelled at her, stomping out the door afterwards. "Damn it!"

"I-Is he…g-going to be okay?" Noel asked the professor. She stared at the door where Ragna had left a few seconds ago, looking all worried.

"I suggest we leave him be…for now." Kagura sighed, and shifted his gaze to Kokonoe. "Is there any chance that you could send someone to the same coordinates that you've typed in for Jin?"

"I could, but who knows where those coordinates might lead to," Kokonoe explained to him. She gave a deep sigh, and made her way towards the other exit. "I'm going back to my lab. Something tells me that Terumi is still out there…somewhere."

"Suit yourself." Kagura shrugged. "Man, this is a mess."

Noel looked to Kagura. "W-What are we going to do now?"

"Well…" Kagura smirked slightly, leaning his head forward. "…what do _you_ wanna do?"

Noel's cheeks began to turn red at the unexpected question. "D-D-Don't start with me! H-Have you no shame!?"

"Hey!" Kagura yelled at her. A hand landed on his shoulder, and he turned his head around with an eyebrow raised. "Eh?"

In all honesty, the sight of a furious Makoto Nanaya up-close nearly made him wet his pants, not that he'll tell anybody about that though.

"It seems to me that you don't really care about your balls that much," Makoto told him with a dangerous edge to her voice.

"I-I do. N-Now please don't kill me," Kagura squeaked out in fear, but was knocked to the ground when a powerful punch was sent to his face.

"Makoto! S-Stop! You're hurting him!" Noel tried to pull her close friend away from Kagura. However, she was unable to stop the squirrel beastkin from punching Kagura's face over and over again.

And to make matters worst, she wasn't holding back her punches.

"Gah! You rabid squirrel!" Kagura shouted, and immediately wished he hadn't.

* * *

Another Beowolf howled in pain when its arm was sliced off, before its entire head was cleaved in two.

"Worthless. The lot of you." Jin scoffed. He sheathed Yukianesa, not even keeping his eyes open despite being surrounded by more of the black creatures. "This is clearly a waste of my time."

One of the creatures snarled, and lunged itself straight at Jin with its claws at the ready.

When the Beowolf was close, Jin snapped his eyes open and held up a hand, forming a large red circle barrier.

 **"Kokūjin** … **"**

As planned, the Beowolf slashed at the red barrier, which caused said barrier to slowly fade away. The creature, however, was paralyzed in midair.

 **"** … **Yukikaze!"**

And just like that, the Beowolf was encased in ice.

 **"I expected more from you."** Jin slowly sheathed his blade, and as if on cue, the ice that held the Beowolf shattered into pieces, killing it.

Three more Beowolves lunged themselves towards Jin, but he ducked out of the way and sent a wave of ice upwards once they were directly above him. **"Rehhyō!"**

The attack ended up tearing all three of them in half. He stood up quickly shortly after, sheathing Yukianesa again as he did so. Jin then rolled out of the way when he felt something moving around behind him. Looking back, a large bear of some sort met his eyes, which seemed to have its claws deep within the ground where he was standing just mere moments ago.

The large Ursa turned to its prey, before letting out a loud roar.

"You seem worthy of my time," Jin said. He formed an ice blade out of thin air and sent it flying towards the large beast. **"Do not disappoint me, you pathetic creature."**

The Ursa let out another roar and countered the attack, however, by swiping its claws at the flying ice blade, shattering it into pieces. With a growl, the Ursa rushed towards Jin with its jaws wide open. The beast swung its claws down on its prey, only for said prey to block the attack with Yukianesa.

"How pathetic," Jin muttered. He proceeded to slice the Ursa's arm off, which caused the creature to roar in pain.

 **"Fubuki!** **"** Jin slashed at the Ursa's face with his icy blade, cleaving its head completely in two. The beast fell to the ground after that, but Jin simply ignored it as he turned himself around to face the seemingly large pack of Beowolves.

Jin sliced a Beowolf's head clean off when it came in too close. Another one tried to pounce on him, but was torn apart by one of his flying ice blades. And after a long while of fighting, to his surprise, there was only one left.

The last Beowolf tilted its head slightly, as if it was thinking.

"What are you looking at?" Jin glared, drawing his blade without hesitation. However, he was taken aback when the creature turned itself around.

The Beowolf turned its head to face the man and growled, before it began to walk away.

"For a disgusting creature, you can actually make a wise choice for once," Jin said.

Once he was sure the Beowolf was gone, Jin began to walk around without any destination in mind. "I've never seen nor heard of this place before. And what were those things?"

He examined his surroundings, but all he could see were trees.

Just then, a cliffside could be seen in the distance. The moment Jin's eyes landed on it, he immediately made up his mind.

"That would be a good place to start my search for answers."

Without warning, Jin felt as though he was being watched, and he immediately grew tense. It also didn't help when he heard something screeching in the trees beside him. In instinct, he dived out of the way when something big rushed out of the trees, revealing itself to be a large scorpion.

The gigantic scorpion turned its attention towards Jin. Its golden stinger began to glow, albeit faintly.

 **"You obstacle** … **"** Jin growled. He formed a large ice blade, and proceeded to send it flying in the Deathstalker's direction. **"** … **get out of my way!"**

The ice blade shattered into pieces upon crashing itself against one of the Deathstalker's pincers, and the attack simply angered it rather than hurting it.

"That was rather stupid of me," Jin muttered under his breath.

The Deathstalker rushed at Jin and attempted to grab him with its left pincer, only to realize that it was slightly frosted up from the ice blade earlier, causing its grabbing attempt a lot less effective and slow.

Jin easily avoided its pincer by jumping high up into the air. He sent more ice blades down on the armored creature below, deciding that it was best to just frost it up a bit more.

The Deathstalker screeched in anger upon realizing that the ice blades made its movements a lot slower, making itself an easy target. Preparing its golden stinger, the Deathstalker quickly brought it down on Jin.

Jin scoffed and evaded the golden stinger with ease, and simply sliced it off with just a swing of his weapon.

The large Deathstalker screeched loudly in pain at that, before it rushed towards Jin and started swinging its pincers around in rage.

"Is this the best you can do?" Jin taunted while evading the attacks with ease. He drew his blade to attack, but was taken off-guard when the Deathstalker managed to knock him away with its right pincer, sending him crashing against a nearby tree. He quickly looked up, and rolled out of the way when the large scorpion rushed in towards his position.

"Tch! Seems like holding back is useless."

Jin held Yukianesa in front of him, and suddenly, the wind around him grew cold.

 **"Yukianesa's power** … **experience it firsthand!"**

He activated his Overdrive, allowing some sort of faint blue energy to engulf his entire frame.

Resting his hand on Yukianesa's hilt, Jin casually made his way towards the large Deathstalker, as if it wasn't much of a threat to be dealt with.

 **"I do not have the time to waste on you."**

The Deathstalker ignored his words, however, and charged towards him, screeching all the while.

 **"Tōga Hyōjin!"** Jin drew his blade and sent an ice blizzard towards the Deathstalker, and proceeded to do it once more. He repeated the same attack for three more times, and finally sheathed his blade.

Not wanting to give the Deathstalker a chance to make its move, Jin brought Yukianesa down to the ground, encasing the large scorpion in ice.

 **"Rengoku Hyōya!"**

Satisfied upon hearing the cracking noises coming from the scorpion's thick armor, Jin pulled Yukianesa away from the ground, and slowly sheathed his weapon. Suddenly, the ice which held the Deathstalker shattered into a million pieces.

 **"Eternal Freeze."**

Jin took a moment to examine his foe, and nodded at his accomplishment. The large Deathstalker had minor injuries, but the series of attacks from earlier did the most important thing.

It slowed down the Deathstalker's movements.

 **"Time to end this!"** Jin jumped into the air and created a large arrow, which was made out of ice. **"Break down!"** He took aim, and shot the large projectile down on the Deathstalker, landing back down onto the ground a few moments later.

A loud painful screech could be heard from the Deathstalker when the arrow penetrated its thick armor by drilling its way inside, which killed it almost instantly.

"And stay down, you worthless piece of trash," Jin muttered with a disgusted look on his face. The faint blue energy around his body began to fade away, but he paid it no mind.

"Now…to find my answers."

* * *

"And this is the place where all the first year students begin their initiation," Velvet explained, "I know that it's crazy and dangerous to send your students flying in a forest that's filled with monsters…but, it works." She giggled at her own statement, not noticing the weird looks the others were giving her.

"Crazy. Definitely crazy." Hazama looked to the forest, cracking an eye open to get a better view. "I don't know if that old man is nuts…or just plain crazy. Though, he could be both."

"Why are we following him again?" Yang whispered into Blake's ear, which earned her a shrug from the faunus.

"Apparently, Kazuma still doesn't trust him," Ruby explained with a sigh. "I've just never seen him so serious before."

"If my old partner suddenly works here as a professor, then I'd feel the same way," Blake said, nodding her head to prove her point. "I'm still surprised that he's allergic to cats. For someone as dangerous as him, it's just ridiculous." She covered her mouth and giggled, which caused the two sisters to giggle as well.

"Can you three be serious for once?" Weiss told them with a huff, before landing her gaze on Blake. "And I expected better from you."

The bookworm of Team RWBY simply shrugged, smiling all the while. "I think it's funny."

"Well I think it is not. That man gives me the chills for some reason," the heiress said. She jumped a few inches off the ground, however, when a hand landed on her shoulder. "Eep!"

"I-It's just me. Sorry I scared you, Weiss," Kval apologized, "I didn't really mean to."

"N-No, it's fine." Weiss closed her eyes and sighed. "Professor Hazama just…makes me feel on edge, every time I'm around him. That's all."

"You're not the only one," Kval muttered, looking at Hazama from the corner of his eyes.

* * *

Sighing at how crazy Beacon Academy was after hearing an explanation from Velvet about the school being designed to train warriors, Hazama asked, "Is this world always this crazy? I mean, it couldn't get crazier than that, right?"

Velvet pouted in response. "That's not funny."

"I wasn't trying to be funny," Hazama muttered. However, he then began to notice a sudden change in her behavior. Velvet seemed like she was nervous about something, and that's probably the reason why she's a bit more fidgety than usual. The artificial human tilted his head slightly, and asked, "Is something the matter?"

After a brief moment of silence, Velvet finally gathered the courage to speak.

"Are you…are you a bad person?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." Hazama slowly opened his eyes, dumbfounded at what he was hearing. "Care to explain?"

"Kazuma told me about his past and all the terrible things he's done. And I…I only have one question." She looked him in the eyes. "Can I…can I trust you?"

He winced at the unexpected question. The artificial human began rubbing the back of his neck with a troubled expression, his eyes not meeting hers. "Well…" he trailed off, "…you can't."

"W-What?" Her face paled at his answer, eyes widening. "B-But why?"

"I'll be honest with you, Velvet. You don't know who I really am, and you don't know the things I've done." He closed his eyes and shoved his hands inside his pockets. "So I'll give you an important piece of advice. Never trust someone like me, and especially me. They are dangerous. _I_ am dangerous." He cracked his eyes open once more and met her brown ones. "You understand what I'm trying to say here?"

"I'll still trust you, no matter what happens," Velvet said to him, nodding cutely with her cheeks puffed out.

"Eh?" Hazama blankly stared at Velvet. And not a moment too soon, he decided to give her a swift chop on the head. "Are you retarded or something!?"

"Ow!" She winced slightly, rubbing her head soon after. "What was that for!?"

"For being an idiot…" He gave a frustrated sigh. "Just…do whatever you want."

With this, Velvet gave the man a soft smile. "I will!"

"Did something happened?" Kval asked as he made his way towards the two, followed closely by Team RWBY behind him. He glared daggers at Hazama, but then smiled at Velvet. "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing that concerns you, old vessel," grumbled Hazama, scratching his head tiredly as he did so.

"Don't worry, I was just asking him some questions about himself. That's all," the rabbit faunus explained, grinning at him.

"I see…" Kval slowly folded his arms, looking suspiciously at Hazama.

"What are you looking at?" growled the older vessel.

Feeling rather bored, Yang decided to have some fun by grabbing her partner by the arm. She then proceeded to drag the cat faunus near Hazama.

"H-Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Hazama yelled at the blonde with a bit of fear in his voice. He immediately hid himself behind Velvet, taking her with him as he took a few steps back.

"Yang!" Ruby and Blake called out at the same time, but was ultimately left ignored.

"I'm not doing anything!" Yang assured them despite what she was currently doing. Kval, however, was smirking the entire time, clearly enjoying where this was going.

* * *

Weiss stared at the scene with no interest, and went to the edge of the cliff to take in the beautiful sight of the Emerald Forest. However, even the most beautiful of places can be dangerous in its own rightful way.

A small smile had found its way to her face as she remembered the events that had happened back in initiation day. The day where she met her teammates for the first time.

The memory of her being mean to them never failed to get a frown out of her, but she had changed her poor attitude long ago. Even though she doesn't show it that much, she actually cared deeply for everyone on her team, and that included Kval as well. That, she was certain.

However, all those thoughts were immediately thrown out the window when something caught her eyes far in the distance.

"Huh?"

Weiss squinted her eyes to get a better look at the flying thing that was headed her way, and was taken aback at what she saw.

"Is that a…person?"

The heiress took a few steps back, not tearing her eyes away from the man in blue clothing who was currently heading her way in full speed.

"I-Is he…riding on an ice?" she asked herself in utter shock, wide-eyed.

The next thing she knew, Weiss heard the man shout, "Move out of the way!"

Weiss blinked once, and immediately jumped to the side. The man in blue clothing flew right past her in an instant. He then proceeded to jump himself off the ice, sending it flying towards Hazama.

In instinct, Hazama summoned a dark green serpent right beside him in order to block the incoming ice, his expression calm. He narrowed his eyes and turned to face his attacker, but was utterly shocked at who he saw.

"Jin…Kisaragi!?"

"What the hell!?" Yang exclaimed. She then went into a combat stance, eyeing the newcomer. "That wasn't cool!" Even at the worst of times, the urge to make puns was too much for her to resist.

"Yang!" Ruby hissed.

"You…" Jin growled. He made his way towards Hazama. "I couldn't believe my eyes at first, but here you are, fooling around and being a bastard as usual." He halted himself and drew his blade, eyes never leaving his target. "I'll kill you."

Hazama smirked. "You think you can beat me in a fight? Keep dreaming!"

"And what if I can?" Jin retorted. Just then, he took note of the others who were cautiously staring at him from the sides. Thankfully, none of them were armed with any weaponry, but what truly caught his attention was Kval. The man narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Who the hell are you?"

"M-Me?" The young vessel nervously pointed at himself for confirmation.

"Did I stutter?" Jin asked. He shook his head moments later. "Judging by your appearance, I can only assume that you are with him. So, it seems that I'll have to kill you as well."

"E-Eh!?" Kval's eyes widened.

"No one is killing anyone!" Blake yelled at Jin, gaining his undivided attention. "Just who are you? And why are you here?"

"I do not need to introduce myself to pathetic people like you," he replied coldly. The cat faunus sent him a dangerous look, but he simply ignored her and looked to the remaining others. "The same goes to all of you."

"Look buddy, we don't want any trouble," Yang said. To be honest, his poor attitude was really starting to piss her off. "I suggest you put that thing down. Now."

"Who do you think you are to order me around?" Jin looked to the blonde from the corner of his eyes. He scoffed, then muttered, "Garbage."

"What did you just call me!?" Yang shouted in anger and took a step forward, eyes flickering to red.

Hazama quickly came in with his hands held out in front of him, smiling slyly. "Listen up, you little runt. If you hurt the kids, then I'd end up getting fired by my boss on my first day at work." He cracked an eye open, revealing his snake-like slits. "I _really_ don't want that to happen."

"I couldn't care less," Jin replied.

"You're much more of an asshole than me," Hazama muttered. But unfortunately, his words were ignored.

Without warning, Jin ran up towards Hazama, effectively catching him off-guard. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, he prepared his blade and performed a quick slash.

Hazama attempted to block the attack, only to realize that he was currently unarmed.

That's when the unexpected happened.

No one saw it coming, but Kval had somehow managed to push Hazama out of harm's way. The blade came in, and all he could do at that moment was closing his eyes.

* * *

Blood splattered across her cheek, as Ruby stared in shock at what had just transpired. She ignored the blood dripping down her chin, and slowly focused her gaze on her teammate who was sprawled across the ground, motionless.

"Kazuma?" Ruby called out, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She continued to stare at his body, legs trembling. "Kazuma…c-come on…you…c-can't be…"

For a brief moment, everything went silent.

But that all soon changed when Hazama made the first move.

 **"Jayoku Hōtenjin!"**

* * *

 **Now that's a wrap!**

 **Please don't hate me...but I sure do hope you enjoyed it.**

 **After watching the new chapters of RWBY Volume 3, I was like...yeah...that does it. Someone's gonna die, and I mean it. Those bastards...**

 **I know that I've rusted a bit, so I'll try my best to get back into shape by the time I update Phase 22. I won't be able to update this story by next week, because my Internet will be down at the time. My sincere apologies.**

 **Is anyone else excited about Shin Gojira!?**

 **I ain't really got much to say, so I'll see you guys again later in Phase 22!**


	22. Phase 22

**Welcome to Phase 22 of Still Alive!**

 **First of all, I would like to apologize for the late update. So as an apology, I decided to make this Phase a bit longer than usual. No, scratch that, this is the longest Phase that I've ever written for this entire story.**

 **Thanks for the support and reviews! You guys are the ones keeping me motivated, and for that, I am grateful.**

 **Anyway, I realized that I made a mistake when I was editing and accidentally replaced Phase 11 with 12. But don't worry, I already fixed that. To all of you new readers who were confused about that, go back and read Phase 11.**

 **Remember readers, if you see a mistake, please be a friend and point it out. I got a bit of OCD in me, so I don't mind editing things over and over again. I'm weird like that.**

 **By the way, a response to Zangetsu Ossan's review in the last Phase.** **Shit man! You totally cracked me up! Haha!**

 **And another response to a Guest, no, I will not write that story because I don't really know much about both series. Listen guys, if you wanna ask me a question, you gotta have an account. It'll be easier that way. If I receive another question from a Guest, I'll just read it...and ignore it.**

 **Now, enjoy Phase 22!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

* * *

Jin couldn't block the attack, and for that, he was sent flying in the air in an instant. Although he wouldn't admit it, but the devastating kick he received from Hazama was painful.

Getting hit by an unstoppable speeding train. That's how it felt like.

"Get him to safety now!" Hazama ordered to all five of them. He proceeded to slam Jin back down to the ground with Ouroboros. "I'll deal with him!" He then looked to Jin, and growled. "You're a retarded asshole, y'know that?"

"Guh…was that…the best you could do?" Jin coughed, holding his gut in utter pain. He went into a stance and swung his weapon down in order to send an ice blizzard towards Hazama. He then jumped into the air, and proceeded to send multiple ice blades in the artificial human's direction.

 **"Hishōgeki!"**

Hazama rolled to the side to avoid the ice blizzard, and summoned two green serpents to block the ice blades. He gritted his teeth and threw a few of his knives at Jin, planning on buying the others some time to escape.

He just hoped that they would listen.

* * *

"C-Come on! We need to carry him to safety!" Ruby yelled out. She grabbed the boy's arm and lifted him up, but was knocked to the ground when one of Jin's flying ice blades came crashing into her back.

Ruby considered herself lucky to have an Aura.

"Cold! Really cold!"

Suddenly, Yang's entire body was engulfed in flames. "You bastard!" She turned around and ran towards Jin in rage, no doubt that she was pissed off because her little sister got hurt.

If only she knew who she was dealing with.

"Yang! Stop!" Weiss called out, but was unfortunately ignored.

Knowing that her partner was stubborn and nothing was going to change her mind, Blake rolled her eyes and decided to do the same thing as Yang. Charging in with reckless abandon.

The heiress and the rabbit faunus stared at the two in utter disbelief.

"Get back here!" the two shouted in unison.

* * *

"Whoa there! You missed me!"

"Stay still so I can kill you!" Jin began slashing around wildly at Hazama, but the man was able to avoid the attacks with ease.

Angered by this, Jin decided that it'd be best to charge in and tear that damn smirk off his opponent's face. However, he cried out in pain when a powerful punch was delivered to the side of his face, courtesy of Yang.

Hazama gave the blonde a menacing glare. "Get your ass away from here! This is dangerous!"

"I'm going to beat the tar out of him too, whether you like it or not!" Yang argued, grinning. She cracked her knuckles. "This'll be easy."

"You stubborn little…" He growled, before quickly shifting his gaze to the quiet girl. "Can you do me a favor and stop her?"

"We can handle this," Blake simply told him. She turned to where Jin was and ran towards him, her expression serious.

"H-Hey! Stay away from him!"

Even though she didn't have Gambol Shroud at the moment, Blake could still be a dangerous fighter when it came to things such as hand-to-hand combat. All the combat training which she went through with Adam Taurus back in the day had surely paid off.

"You worthless trash!" Jin swung his blade down on Blake, but was taken aback when the girl vanished. Before he could prepare himself, a kick was delivered to his back, courtesy of Blake.

The faunus girl smirked, and went into a combat stance.

"Tch! Just die already!" Jin was about to draw his blade from its sheath, but was unable to when Yang gave him another powerful punch to the back of his head.

"Don't forget about me yet!" She grinned. "I'm gonna beat the living daylights out of you!"

"Damn it! You two…are starting to annoy me." He slowly went back up to his feet, wincing. "Fine, I guess holding back was too nice of me."

Without warning, Jin unsheathed Yukianesa and stabbed the ground with it. Multiple large ice shards shot out from the ground around him, much to everyone's shock.

Blake was lucky enough to jump away from the ice shards in time, as she used her Semblance to give herself some boost. Yang, however, was too slow on her retreat, and was sent crashing against a nearby tree.

Blake looked over at Yang a bit worriedly, and couldn't resist the urge to sigh in relief when her partner gave her a thumbs up from where she was, along with a weak grin. She focused her eyes back on Jin, who was currently blocking a series of attacks from Hazama.

Judging by the look on his face, Yang's punch must've had an effect on him.

* * *

"He's bleeding pretty badly! We need to fix him up!" Velvet said while examining the deep gash across Kval's chest.

Ruby was panicking, and it sure as hell wasn't helping. Her silver eyes kept on darting back and forth between Kval's face and his wound every few seconds. She clasped the boy's hand with her own small hands, tears dripping down her chin.

"W-What should I do? What can I do in this situation!?"

"Ruby! Stay calm!" Velvet called out. She lifted up the unconscious boy by the arm, but was surprised to see Hazama flying right past her. What truly caught her attention was his right arm, which was encased in ice.

"That little shit!" Hazama cursed.

Looking back to the fight, Velvet was met with the sight of Blake and Yang holding their ground against Jin with precise combination attacks. He seemed to have a hard time dealing with both of them at the same time, and not to mention that Weiss was supporting their attacks by throwing small pebbles at the man to distract him.

They weren't even giving Jin a chance to attack.

Even though their teamwork looked hilarious with Weiss throwing pebbles around at the man, it was teamwork nonetheless. However, comparing to everyone who they had fought with in the past, Jin was basically on a whole new level.

* * *

"What's wrong, buddy? Is this too fast for you?" Yang taunted, grinning cockily as she kept assaulting Jin with her strong punches. She quickly prepared her right fist and attempted to perform an uppercut, only to miss when her target leaned to the side.

Acting quickly, Jin slammed Yukianesa's sheath against Yang's face and wasted no time in sweeping her off her feet, sending the poor girl down to the ground as results.

The cat faunus took the chance and rushed towards Jin from behind, but the man knew this, however.

Jin whirled himself around and sent a small wave of ice her way. "Pointless."

Blake clicked her tongue in annoyance and decided to retreat, lest she wanted to be encased in ice.

"Too weak!" Jin brought his weapon down to the ground, which made a bunch of ice shards to shoot out from the ground around Blake, trapping her in place. "Now, stay there so I can kill the bastard," he said.

"Damn it!" Blake cursed.

Jin winced in pain when a pebble flew straight into the side of his head. Two seconds passed by, and he slowly turned to the heiress and gave her a death glare.

The heiress was then frozen in place the moment she saw his glare, not daring herself to blink. At that moment, she felt chills running down her spine, and that's coming from her of all people. It's not even funny.

It wasn't on the same level as Kval's glare, but it was terrifying nonetheless.

Weiss' legs started to tremble in fear, but was confused when Jin scoffed and turned away. The heiress simply stared at the man's back, muttering, "What?"

Figuring that fighting the annoying girl would be a complete waste of his time, Jin made his way towards Hazama with his eyes closed. "I do not have the time to deal with this bullshit."

Jin didn't know what to expect. The moment he opened his eyes, a leg came into view and quickly made itself comfortable on the side of his face. Growling in anger, Jin rolled to the side and went back up on his feet. He focused his eyes on his attacker, and was met with the sight of a certain rabbit faunus, who seemed to be glaring at him.

Cute.

"You. Get out of my way," he demanded.

"No," she replied, hardening her glare as she did so.

"Then so be it." He went into a fighting stance, but lost his focus when a pebble was thrown to the back of his head. Irritated beyond belief, he whirled himself around and yelled at Weiss, "You annoying little girl! Do you want to die that badly!?"

Weiss glared daggers at him, and simply replied with, "Better watch your back."

"Huh?" He turned his head around with his eyes narrowed, but was knocked to the ground when Velvet's leg met his face. Again. "Gah!"

"Told you so." Weiss can't help but smirk at her accomplishment with her head held high. However, she immediately jumped out of the way when a wave of ice was sent her way. "H-Hey!"

Jin ignored the annoying girl as he avoided a kick from Velvet, and successfully did it a second time. Unsheathing his weapon, Jin swung his blade in a wide arc, but Velvet lowered herself to the ground before the attack could connect.

Out of nowhere, Yang came up from behind Jin and threw a punch at his back, which was then followed by a swift kick. The kick ended up sending him towards Velvet, and she took the chance by performing an overhead kick.

"Guh!" Jin cried out in pain. He fell on his back, and Yang decided to pick him up by the collar, grinning as she did.

"How did you like that?"

Jin answered Yang's question by simply swinging Yukianesa at her face, prompting the blonde to release her grip on him. "You're a nuisance!" He kicked her in the gut in order to create some distance, and he proceeded to form a large arrow made out of ice.

"H-How is he doing that!?" Weiss exclaimed, staring at the large ice arrow in awe.

 **"Begone!"** Jin shot the ice arrow at Yang, and went into a stance to prepare another attack.

"What the hell!?" Yang's eyes grew wide when she saw the large projectile. She barely jumped over it in time, but that didn't stop her from laughing. "Is that all you got?" She smirked, but said smirk was soon wiped off her face when she quickly took note of the ice blizzard heading her way.

Velvet can only watch in horror when the attack connected, which ended up with Yang being thrown off the cliff.

"Yang!" she called out, but was too late.

"Finally. That bitch is gone."

The faunus girl looked over at Jin in stunned silence. She gritted her teeth in anger. "You'll pay for this!" Velvet rushed at the man and began assaulting him with her powerful kicks.

Unfortunately for the faunus, Jin was able to avoid the attacks by blocking them with his weapon, but Velvet wasn't going to give up that easily.

As the fight between the two were still raging on, Weiss took the chance and began throwing pebbles at Jin once more. She wasn't going to give up that easily either.

"You brat!" Jin turned to the heiress, raising his arm to block yet another kick from Velvet. He focused his attention back to his current opponent shortly after, and decided to read her movements and deal with the annoying girl later.

As predicted, the faunus prepared her right leg for another kick.

 **"Is this all you can do?"**

Jin formed a large red circle barrier in front of him, paralyzing Velvet when her leg made contact with it.

"H-Huh!? What!?"

The next thing she knew, Velvet was blinded by a bright light, and soon realized that her entire body was encased in ice. Velvet saw the man sheathing his weapon from the corner of her eyes, which then caused the ice that held her to shatter into pieces. Velvet fell to the ground at that, breathing heavily as her vision began to blur.

"Hazama…I'm…sorry…" she muttered, eyes closing as she went unconscious.

Jin looked down at her unconscious body, and turned around. Only to receive a punch to the face, courtesy of Hazama.

The man in the trench coat grabbed Jin's collar and slammed him to the ground. He quickly coiled Ouroboros around his left leg, and threw him away without hesitation.

Judging by the look on his face, it was pretty obvious that he's pissed off.

"Kisaragi, after I'm done with you, I'll make sure to shove that blade of yours up your ass," Hazama told him, barely containing the rage in his voice.

Jin stood back up with a low growl, glaring at Hazama. "Empty threats are nothing to me."

"We'll see, you little shit," he replied.

* * *

"Weiss!" Ruby called out to her partner, gaining her attention. "Go get help! Find Professor Goodwitch!"

"Are you crazy!? I can't leave you here with that maniac running around!" the heiress yelled. Weiss was about to say more, but decided against it when she saw the pleading look on Ruby's face.

Clicking her tongue, Weiss turned around and ran to find Professor Goodwitch, but not before shouting "You better stay safe! You dunce!"

Ruby gave her partner a quick nod. She turned to Kval shortly after, inspecting his deep wound. However, the girl blinked a couple of times, surprised when it was nowhere to be seen.

The answer to how the gash on Kval's chest disappeared, she would never know.

"Y-You better wake up…" Ruby whispered. She closed her eyes and held back her tears, but snapped them back open when the hand she held gave hers a gentle squeeze.

The green-haired boy slowly moved his head to face his worried team leader. "…Ruby?"

The girl gasped upon hearing his weak voice. She tightened her grip around his hand. "D-Don't move too much! You're going to be okay! I promise!"

Kval slowly sat himself up and ignored Ruby's warning to stay still, much to her chagrin. The expression on his face was unreadable.

"Kazuma! You need to lie down!" Ruby yelled at him. She attempted to push him back down, but all of her efforts were in vain, unfortunately.

"Ruby…"

"H-Huh?" Ruby looked to him, and was confused when she saw how worried he was.

"Did…he hurt you?" he asked, and at the same time scanning Ruby's face for any injuries.

The little scythe wielder couldn't believe her ears. This guy had just been slashed across the chest without an Aura to protect him. And after recovering, he was worried about _someone else's_ well-being rather than his own.

This, of course, caused her to snap.

Ruby smacked Kval's head, much to his shock and confusion.

"Are you serious!?"

The young vessel rubbed his head in pain. "W-What was that for!?"

Ruby was planning to yell at him for being so selfless, but stopped herself when she saw Jin in the distance.

 **"Dodge this!"**

The man sent multiple ice blades towards Hazama, but he managed to avoid all of them by rolling to the side.

But because of this, the ice blades were now heading in their direction.

Acting on sheer instinct, Kval held out his arm and sent a green shockwave at the ice blades, destroying most of them. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, and proceeded to send another one.

Ruby stared at Kval in awe upon witnessing his new power, not noticing the remaining ice blades which were heading her way.

Kval's eyes shot wide open when one of the ice blades crashed itself against the side of Ruby's head, before another one came in and crashed into her stomach. The little girl was knocked to the ground at that, groaning in pain.

"Ow…c-cold…"

Surely if Ruby didn't have her Aura, she could've died.

"You could've died…" the boy muttered. He stared at Ruby, who was now clutching her stomach in pain.

Upon witnessing the sight of Ruby getting hurt, rage started to well up inside of him.

Jin could've killed Ruby without even knowing it, and that pissed him off greatly. It made his blood boil, and let's not even begin on Jin's poor attitude. Kval balled his hands tightly into fists and stood up.

Kval didn't know who this person was, and he was beginning to hate him already. He gritted his teeth in anger and made his way towards the battle, but something caught his eyes and made him stop.

There in the distance, was Velvet, on the ground and unconscious.

He stared at her unconscious form in utter shock, before realizing _another_ terrible thing.

Blake and Yang weren't here. He knew Weiss was calling for help, since he saw the heiress running away the moment he regained consciousness.

Did something terrible happened while he was unconscious?

Where was Blake and Yang?

What happened to Velvet?

The answer to all those questions was right there in front of him.

Jin Kisaragi.

No one knew it, and not even him, but something inside of him was about to snap.

"I'm…I'm alright," Ruby assured him, wincing. "N-Nothing…too serious…"

"Ruby…did he hurt you when I was unconscious?" the young vessel asked with a dangerous edge to his voice, but it went unnoticed by Ruby.

"W-Well, I got hit by one of those flying ice swords earlier…or whatever they are…when I tried to pull you up…ow…" She rubbed her stomach, eyes closed.

That's when it snapped.

"Why do you ask?"

No answer was given.

The girl was confused at first when she received no answer, which prompted her to look over at Kval so she could see what was wrong. Unfortunately for her, the moment she moved her head to face him, he immediately ran his way towards the raging battle with his knives in each of his hand.

"Kazuma! What on Remnant are you doing!?"

* * *

 **"Jasetsu** … **"** Hazama held his ground when Jin came charging his way, gathering dark green energy around his left arm as he did so. Once Jin was close, he wasted no time in performing a kick that was meant to send Jin into the air, which was trailed by an energy serpent. **"** … **Gashōkyaku!"**

Jin countered Hazama's attack by slashing at the green serpent with Yukianesa, which caused it to vanish upon contact with the blade. **"Fubuki!"**

 **"I ain't done yet!"** Hazama sent Ouroboros flying in Jin's direction, but was shocked to see his target forming a large arrow which was made out of ice. Thinking fast, he pulled Ouroboros back and summoned three large serpents right in front of him.

 **"You piece of trash!"** Jin shot the arrow at Hazama, but it shattered into pieces when two of the serpents slammed into it.

Hazama landed back on the ground with a shit-eating grin. "What's the matter, Kisaragi?" he taunted with the last of the three serpents spiraling around him, its glowing green eyes locked on Jin. "Have you gone senile or something?"

"Shut up!"

"You're so funny when you're mad! Hyahaha!" Hazama laughed. "Here, have a snake!" The serpent lunged itself straight at Jin, only for it to slam its head into a red circle barrier.

"What the hell!?" Realizing that he couldn't move, Hazama sighed before muttering, "I should really stop fooling around for once…"

And the next thing he knew, he was encased in ice.

 **"Without a trace** … **Kokūjin: Yukikaze."**

Before Jin could sheathe his weapon to shatter the ice that held Hazama, Kval came rushing in and managed to cut Jin across the cheek with one of his knives. The man hissed in pain and blocked another attack with Yukianesa.

"I'm going to kill you!" Kval growled in anger. He rolled out of the way when Jin swung his blade in a wide arc, and he proceeded to glare at him from where he was.

Jin scoffed at his declaration. "Try your best, but I doubt that you are able to defeat me."

Charging at his opponent with no plan whatsoever, Kval was unfortunately sent flying back when a large ice shard shot out from the ground in front of him. He crashed into the large ice that held Hazama, and dived out of the way when an ice blade was sent his way.

The ice blade crashed itself into Hazama's ice prison, cracking it slightly.

"Face the harsh truth, trash. You can't beat me," Jin said, keeping his gaze on Kval's injury. However, he was taken aback when it healed up at an alarming rate. "What!? H-How!?"

"I was created this way," he explained. Without waiting for a reply, Kval rushed in. He attempted to stab Jin in the neck with his knife, but the man evaded the attack and gave him an uppercut.

Jin jumped into the air and sent multiple ice blades in his direction. **"Pathetic!"**

Kval quickly jumped out of the way, and managed to shatter a few of them with his knives. Some of the ice blades crashed into Hazama's ice prison, cracking it further.

Jin rushed in and swung his weapon upwards. Unfortunately, his target jumped back in order to avoid the attack, and he growled at that.

Kval threw the knife in his left hand towards Jin's gut, only for it to be deflected away.

Jin scoffed. "Is this all you can do?"

"Ouroboros."

A small black portal appeared above the large ice that held Hazama. Ouroboros came shooting down from it and crashed itself into the ice, cracking it.

"Ouroboros!? You're wielding a Nox Nyctores!?" Jin took a step back, the expression of shock splattered across his face.

"What of it?" Kval asked.

"It seems that I have underestimated you." Jin eyed him cautiously. "I should take this fight a bit more seriously."

Kval ignored his words, as he was busy gathering dark green energy around his right arm. Not too long after that, he ran towards Jin once more with his hand extended.

* * *

"Where is she!?"

Ruby began to panic when Jin and Kval started trading blows with each other.

If only she had her beloved scythe with her.

* * *

"Have any of you seen Professor Goodwitch!?" Weiss asked Team JNPR with beads of sweat trickling down her forehead, tired from all the running.

Team JNPR looked to one another for a brief moment, before shaking their heads.

"Not really. We haven't seen her around," Jaune scratched his head as he told her.

"What's going on?" Pyrrha inquired, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. And if she was being honest with herself, then she was slightly worried for her friend's well-being.

"No time to explain!" The heiress quickly ran off, ignoring Team JNPR as they called out to her. "This is bad! This is so bad!"

She emitted a low growl.

"Why did I even agree to find help in the first place!?"

Weiss was so deep in thought that she wasn't focusing on where she was going, which ended up with her running into someone. The heiress fell on her butt at that, and opened her mouth to yell at the person who got in her way.

However, Weiss immediately threw the idea out of her head when she saw who it was.

"You!"

The man looked down at the heiress with his eyes narrowed, pointing at himself with his thumb.

"You talking to me?"

* * *

Kval coughed. "Y-You're tough…"

Jin stared at Kval with his head held high, his hand hovering over Yukianesa's hilt. "I expected a bigger challenge from you. But sadly, I was mistaken." With this, Jin quickly went into a stance and decided to end the fight.

However, he was unable to when Ruby came in and gave him a double jump side kick to the side of his head.

"Gah!"

Jin was knocked to the side, and Kval could only stare at his young leader in awe.

"How did you like _that_!?" Ruby growled at Jin with her arms crossed. In a matter of seconds, she began to jump up and down in front of Kval like an excited little puppy. "How did I do?"

"You did great!" Kval told Ruby with a smile, and he proceeded to give her a chop on the head as the expression on his face turned serious. "What are you doing here!?"

"I wanna help!" Ruby whined, puffing her cheeks out cutely. "We need a plan to take him down!"

"I…fine! You can start helping me by finding a way to free Hazama!" Kval ordered. He then focused his attention on Jin. "Ouroboros can't complete its task alone, so do whatever you can."

"Got it!" The girl gave him a salute and zipped her way towards Hazama's ice prison, which was currently getting hit by Ouroboros over and over again from above.

Ruby quickly formed an idea, and decided to test things out by punching the ice with her fist.

"Ow!"

Things didn't go too well for her, unfortunately.

* * *

Kval jumped into the air, and dived down towards Jin with two energy serpents appearing at his sides. He thrust both of his arms forward, and the serpents did their jobs and dived down faster with their jaws wide open.

Jin decided to hold his ground, and when they came in close, he tore the serpents apart with rapid slashes. **"Sekkajin!"**

But the green shockwave caught him off-guard.

The young vessel sighed in relief, and went into a fighting stance after he was done catching his breath. He prepared himself once more, engulfing his body in dark green energy.

Jin stood up with a growl, charging at Kval soon after with his blade drawn. He aimed a slash at his stomach, but failed to do so when a small barrier appeared.

"Time to end this!" Ignoring the barrier, Jin summoned two ice blades right above Kval, which were aimed directly at him. The blades flew down, but they were shattered into pieces when two small barriers appeared.

"What!?" Jin stared at his opponent in utter disbelief. A large serpent slammed itself into his side without warning, and he resisted the urge to cry out in pain. "This is getting nowhere! I need to kill him…and fast." He growled.

Before he could think of anything else, a small noise caught his attention. Jin slowly looked to the side, and scowled at what he saw.

"Looks like I'll just have to handle that brat first."

* * *

"Why is this so hard!?"

Ruby groaned, all the while hitting the ice with a large rock. She can't say that it wasn't effective, but it would take a lot of time and effort to actually _crack_ the darn thing open.

She let out a frustrated sigh, not noticing the pair of green eyes which were currently glaring at her.

"Just a little bit longer…"

* * *

In all honesty, watching Jin running towards Ruby was not what he had expected.

So Kval did the most logical thing and ran after Jin.

"Ruby! Watch out!"

* * *

"Huh?" The girl whirled herself around, and immediately moved to the side, barely avoiding the blade. "Whoa!"

"You little brat!" Jin snarled. He pulled out Yukianesa from the ice, and quickly aimed a slash at Ruby without warning.

"Ouch!" Ruby winced painfully and retreated when the ice blade managed to cut her midsection. The cut wasn't deep, but it was still painful. Ruby avoided another attack by ducking, and was caught off-guard when a kick was sent to her gut.

Staring coldly at his victim, Jin drew his blade and muttered, "Try harder in your next life."

"Eep!" Ruby squeaked.

 **"Don't touch her!"**

Quickly turning his head around, Jin went wide-eyed at what he saw.

In the air was a large green serpent that was three times the size of Iron Tager, and it was diving down towards him in tremendous speed.

Reacting quickly, Jin brought his blade down to the ground and hid himself behind a bunch of large ice shards. But to his surprise, the serpent managed to break through his ice defenses. It slammed him against the ice which held Hazama, cracking it further.

"Guha!" Jin cried out. He winced, and soon realized that someone was holding him by the throat. Slowly opening his eyes, he was met with the sight of Kval glaring daggers at him. "What!? Impossible!"

"Impossible?" he said coldly, "Face the harsh truth, trash."

"Beat the poo out of him!" Ruby cheered from the side, her wound long healed by her Aura.

Kval narrowed his eyes and turned to Ruby. "I don't think I can kill him. I mean, not when you're watching."

"Kill!?" the little scythe wielder went wide-eyed, shocked. "B-But…"

Kval shrugged, smiling. "Maybe I'll just knock him out instead."

Jin glared at the two of them in anger and disbelief, and soon realized that Yukianesa was currently unsheathed. He looked back up from his unsheathed blade to Kval, and growled.

"You ignorant fool!"

Ruby went wide-eyed when Kval got himself impaled through the stomach. She slowly covered her mouth, speechless.

The young vessel looked down at his injury, and loosened his grip around Jin's throat without knowing. He coughed up blood when Jin decided to push Yukianesa deeper into his stomach, and his eyes widened.

"Pay attention next time," Jin muttered. He pulled out the blade from Kval's gut, kicking him to the ground shortly after.

* * *

Blake, who had just successfully climbed out of her ice prison, had saw the whole scene. She was in utter shock.

As seconds ticked by, tears began to form in her eyes. She quickly jumped down the ice which she stood on and ran towards him.

"Kazuma!" she called out.

* * *

"Kazuma! Eyes on me!" Ruby told him. She held back her tears, and moved his bangs away in order to see his serpentine eyes.

"Sorry…I screwed up…" Kval managed to say, smiling weakly as he did. "I'm sorry…"

The wound on his stomach felt cold for some reason, so he decided to take a quick look.

Apparently, a few small ice shards could be seen sticking out from his wound, and it slowed the healing process.

"J-Just look at this…"

"Don't say that! You'll be okay!" Ruby yelled at him. She wasn't able to hold her tears for much longer. "I don't want to hear it!"

"I…"

* * *

Blake was frozen in place when a loud cry came from Ruby.

She could only watch as Ruby cried in Kval's chest, while Jin silently stood there with a cold look on his face.

Blake spotted movement from the corner of her eyes, and saw Yang at the edge of the cliff with tattered clothes. And just like herself a moment ago, she seemed to be staring at the scene in shock.

"Ruby!"

Blake whipped her head to the side to find Weiss looking over at Ruby and Kval in worry, while another person stood beside her with his eyes wide open. Blake didn't know who the person was, but she jumped when the man roared in rage.

"Hey! Get the hell away from my niece!"

* * *

 **Another cliffhanger!**

 **P-Please put the guns down. And my apologies, I've rusted again.**

 **I wanted to continue, but I decided against it because that would mean I'd have a lot of editing to do.**

 **By the way, expect Phase 23 to be released in February 1. Now then, I'll see you guys again later!**

 **Peace out!**


	23. Phase 23

**Welcome to Phase 23 of Still Alive!**

 **Keep in mind that this was a bit rushed. I'm sorry if it seems weird or anything. By the way, thanks again everyone! I love you guys!**

 **I don't really have Internet at the moment, so I don't know when I'll get to update.** **There's also a reason why I chose today for the release of Phase 23, and you'll know as soon as you're done reading it.**

 **Anyway, on with the story! And don't forget to point out mistakes if you see any!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

* * *

"Unexplained events has been happening around this area lately, and I'm not quite sure if they were the ones who were responsible for it," Professor Ozpin explained, eyeing the Huntsman in front of him, his expression serious.

Said Huntsman had short black hair, and was wearing a black coat with short sleeves that was accompanied by a pair of black combat trousers. He also had a pair of gloves which were black in color, and wielded a normal looking katana. At closer inspection, however, a small trigger could be seen on the hilt of the katana, which meant that the weapon had a few extra things in store.

"I am fully aware of our current problem, but with these things happening…I can't help but feel like something bad is about to happen."

"So, you want me to look after your students, is it?" the man asked with a smile, folding his arms.

"Precisely." Professor Ozpin nodded at that, smiling as well. "I've known you for many years now, so I know that I could trust you. Other than maintaining the safety of my students, I would also like you to gather some information on that…" he trailed off. Headmaster Ozpin cleared his throat with an uncomfortable look across his face, before continuing, "…tragedy."

Upon hearing this, the man turned his head to the large window. "I still can't believe what I discovered in that warehouse. I've never seen anything like it." He slowly closed his eyes. "Judging from the looks of things, I don't think the White Fang soldiers stood a chance against whoever they were dealing with."

"Who do you think they were up against?" Professor Ozpin asked. He took a small sip of his coffee, not tearing his eyes away from the professional Huntsman.

The man shook his head sideways, shrugging. "Honestly, I don't know."

"Well, it can't be helped." Professor Ozpin closed his eyes. He placed his mug on his desk, and chuckled. "I hope that you will find my academy to your liking, and feel free to report anything that's…out of place."

"Out of place?" the other man asked, raising one of his eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

"My students has a tendency to break things. Mainly the first year students." The headmaster couldn't resist the urge to chuckle at the memory of the food fight from last time. He tilted his head slightly, and said, "But I assure you, they mean no harm. After all, they are all still children, are they not?"

"Why am I not surprised?" The Huntsman laughed at that, smiling as he did so. "You taught them well, Ozpin. And don't worry about your students. They're in good hands."

Professor Ozpin smiled.

"I'm counting on you, Monty."

* * *

"Uncle Qrow!?" Yang called out, surprised.

The moment he saw the injuries across Yang's body, Qrow was pissed beyond hell.

He slowly took out his sword and gave Jin a menacing glare.

No one dared to say a word at that moment. Hell, even Jin felt like he was walking on thin ice. The warrior took a few steps away from Ruby, not tearing his eyes away from the professional Huntsman.

"Kids, stay back," Qrow calmly ordered, but his face told them a different story. "This is gonna get ugly."

Without saying another word or waiting for them to respond, the Hunstman ran at Jin in tremendous speed.

Jin was barely able to block the attack from Qrow when he ran past him, before he whirled himself around to block another one. The large blade came in from the side, and he immediately drew his sword and parried the attack. Despite that, the Huntsman continued his relentless assault, and made sure to keep Jin in place.

Even though Jin could block the series of slashes with Yukianesa, he knew that if this kept on going any further, all of his defenses would crumble down to the ground eventually.

This man was different, and Jin knew that.

"What's the matter, kid?" Qrow taunted while keeping Jin on the defensive. "I thought you were better than this." The man quickly changed his tactics and charged towards Jin, successfully sweeping him off his feet. "Got your legs."

With a growl, Jin aimed a slash at Qrow's right leg with Yukianesa to hopefully catch him by surprise, only to find his sword blocked by his foe's blade. Taking the chance, Jin rolled away and went back up, but was baffled to see his opponent nowhere in sight.

"What!?"

Jin looked around frantically, and gasped. He drew Yukianesa from its sheath and held it above his head with both hands, barely blocking Qrow's powerful attack. The force of the blow was enough to send him skidding across the ground, but he managed to quickly recover himself.

"You should know better than to hurt a group of kids," Qrow said as he casually strolled his way towards Jin. "Picking a fight with them," He nodded to Team RWBY, then pointed to himself with his thumb. "means that you're picking a fight with me."

 **"Enough! Tōga Hyōjin!"** Jin drew his blade and sent an ice blizzard towards Qrow, but the man quickly avoided it by running to the side with his weapon aimed at Jin. He can't say that he wasn't confused at first, but the moment the weapon began transforming itself, Jin knew he was in trouble.

"Eat dust." Qrow pulled the trigger, and Jin avoided the shot by jumping out of the way.

Figuring that running away was useless, Jin jumped into the air and created an ice platform under his feet. And with that, he charged towards his attacker at full speed. **"You old trash!** **Stop being a nuisance and die** **!"**

Growling in anger upon hearing what his opponent just called him, Qrow transformed his weapon back into its sword form and brought it down on Jin. "What did you just call me!?"

Jin smirked. The ice platform under his feet shattered into pieces. He brought his left hand in front of him and proceeded to form a large circle barrier. **"Kokūjin** … **"** The smirk on his face grew wider when Qrow's weapon made contact with it.

However, Jin was shocked and speechless to see the large blade breaking through his red barrier, shattering it and leaving him defenseless.

"M-My barrier!"

Qrow didn't hesitate to give Jin a hard kick to the gut after that, which ended up with him crashing into a nearby tree. "Try your luck next time, kid," he said with a glare, before sighing with his eyes closed. "I need a drink." The man cracked an eye open upon hearing Jin coughing in the distance.

Looking at where Jin was, he was currently using his weapon as a crutch. "I'm…not done."

Qrow tilted his head slightly, raising an eyebrow as he did so. "You still up for another round?"

"I…I can't lose now. Not…to someone like you." Jin glared at him.

"Whatever you say…" Qrow sighed.

Drawing his blade, Jin brought it down to the ground and sent a bunch of ice shards towards Qrow. "Die!"

Qrow couldn't resist the urge to shake his head, and proceeded to transform his weapon into its gun form. He aimed his weapon at the ice shards and pulled the trigger, blasting them to pieces.

"I really need a drink…and a cold one at that."

* * *

Blake wiped away her tears, and quickly turned to her partner. "Yang! Destroy that ice! I'll go and handle Velvet!"

Yang took a second to stare at Blake's back as the faunus girl ran off, nodding to herself shortly after. She ran towards Hazama's ice prison with her blonde hair glowing brightly, and not too long after that, her entire body was engulfed in flames.

"Sorry about this!" Yang exclaimed with an apologetic look, and proceeded to shatter the entire ice with just a single punch. The force of the blow was enough to send Hazama flying, before he crashed down to the ground in the distance.

"T-That…was cold," he muttered, "M-My…coat…damn it…"

"Forget the coat!" Yang yelled. She lifted him up by the collar, glaring at him with her crimson eyes. "Kazuma is badly injured! He could be dead for all we know!"

Upon hearing those words, Hazama snapped his eyes wide open. "Where is he?"

Yang released her grip on his collar and pointed her finger to Ruby. "Over there!"

* * *

"Kazuma! D-Don't die on me now!" Ruby yelled as she cried into his chest. Kval's blood was smeared all over her uniform, but she paid it no mind. The little reaper could hear footsteps coming from behind her, but decided to ignore it.

Yang had other plans, however.

The blonde pulled her little sister away from Kval, much to her displeasure.

"What are you doing Yang!? Let me go!" the girl shouted with teary eyes, kicking her legs wildly to free herself from her sister's tight grip. "He needs me!"

"Calm down! Professor Hazama is here to fix him up!" Yang told Ruby, which calmed her down almost instantly. Upon noticing how quiet her little sister was being, Yang decided to comfort her by resting her chin on the smaller girl's head. "He's going to be fine. Kazuma is a big boy, y'know?" she whispered.

"I…I hope so…" Ruby looked down. "He better be…"

"He'll be fine, Ruby," Weiss assured. She gave the red reaper a soft pat on the shoulder, smiling slightly. "I'm sure of it."

"T-Thanks Weiss…"

Yang smiled slightly at that, but she was secretly holding back her own tears. She exhaled sharply, and focused her attention on Hazama. "H-How's he doing?"

"It looks bad," Hazama said while examining the wound, earning a hard glare from Yang. "Don't look at me like that, Miss Xiao Long. Besides, this is nothing that I can't fix…I think."

"W-Well, how are you going to fix him up?" Weiss asked, not daring herself to look at the wound without vomiting on her shoes.

"I just need to pull these shards out of his wound and let his body handle the rest," he explained, and proceeded to pull out one of the ice shards. "I'll need to do this fast…or he might bleed to death."

"C-Can I help?" Ruby asked, wincing when another shard was pulled out of the open wound. "I-If…if possible…"

"There is no need. I can handle this alone," Hazama told her. Judging by the look on his face, he was clearly not quite fond of getting his hands dirty. "I should've bought those gloves when I had the chance…"

"W-What…happened to him?"

Weiss and the others turned themselves around and saw Velvet, who was leaning against Blake's shoulder for support. The cat faunus stared at Kval's wound for a brief moment, before looking away with her eyes closed.

"I-Is he…dead?"

"Nope. He's still with us," Yang assured the two with a weak grin, then growled, "As for the bastard who knocked our asses…my uncle is currently handling him."

"That's your uncle?" Blake and Velvet asked in unison.

"Yeah. He's a badass Huntsman." Yang nodded, ignoring the sounds of blades clashing and ice being shattered in the distance. Chuckling, she turned to the heiress, and smiled. "Hey Weiss, thanks for calling my uncle."

Weiss blushed, as she was not used to receiving gratitude from someone, let alone from Yang. She closed her eyes and looked away from the blonde with her arms folded. "I-It was no big deal. Y-You're welcome, by the way."

* * *

 **"Who the hell are you!?"** Jin yelled out in rage. He formed an ice arrow and sent it flying in the Huntsman's direction.

The man rolled out of the projectile's way with a small smirk. **"Don't go ape-shit crazy on me just yet."** Qrow chuckled. He ran at Jin and raised his weapon high above his head.

Jin jumped back the moment Qrow brought his weapon down to the ground, and saw a medium-sized crater where he was standing mere moments ago. In rage, Jin rushed in and performed a series of slashes in a vain attempt to land a hit on Qrow.

Qrow evaded the attacks with ease, then came in close and sent Jin in the air with a devastating uppercut. **"Is this too much for you?"** Taking the chance, he grabbed Jin's collar with his other hand and slammed the poor soul down to the ground. **"Well, I'm just getting started."** The man crashed his foot down on Jin's head, and kicked him away.

"I can be ruthless when I wanna be, kid," Qrow told him with a dangerous tone in his voice. He turned his weapon into its gun form yet again and took aim, glaring at Jin all the while. "Hurting my nieces…was a bad move."

 **"Hishōgeki!"**

Qrow narrowed his eyes when he saw the ice blades. He simply sighed and pulled the trigger, blasting the blades to pieces. "And here I thought that you were a threat…" he trailed off, scratching his head with his eyes closed.

 **"Shut up!"** Jin roared, sending more ice blades flying in Qrow's direction.

"I handled that Ice Queen before, and you're no different," Qrow said while evading the ice blades. One of the blades came in close, and he simply destroyed the damn thing with his weapon. "Really?"

* * *

Hazama couldn't help the urge to sigh when the seventh shard was pulled out of Kval's wound. Just when he was about to pull out another shard, one of Kval's fingers twitched, which prompted the older vessel to crack an eye open.

"Oh? He's…waking up."

"Really!?" Ruby didn't hesitate to clasp the unconscious boy's hand at that, while everyone else gathered around with hopeful looks across their faces. "He's…still alive?"

"Give him some room," Hazama announced, but immediately silenced himself when everyone, minus Ruby, glared at him. He gave a sigh, and muttered, "Okay then…"

"Kazuma?"

Ruby's quiet voice made everyone whip their heads towards the unconscious boy, but the sight which greeted their eyes managed to send chills running down each of their spines.

Kval was being unusually quiet, but his serpentine eyes were locked on Ruby's silver ones. If she was creeped out because of this, then she did a _very poor_ job at hiding it. Though, no one could blame her.

Silence filled the air.

In that moment, Ruby knew something was wrong.

"Kazuma, a-are you alright?" Ruby asked. He continued to stare at her, and she was beginning to feel scared.

Kval then slowly shifted his gaze to Hazama.

"I'll try to fix you up, but do me a favor and stay still. It will be a lot more easier for me that way." Hazama went back to continue his work, shaking his head. "I wish I was paid for this shit…"

And the next thing they knew, Kval shot his free hand forward and grabbed Hazama's face.

"Kazuma!?" Ruby immediately released his hand and moved back in fear, prompting the others to do the same.

Hazama on the other hand, wasn't planning on moving, let alone saying anything. He took note of the twisted grin across Kval's face, but despite that, his expression remained unreadable.

"Hey…this isn't funny."

* * *

"Guh…" Jin slowly went up to his feet, using Yukianesa as a crutch to support himself. "Dammit…"

"I see that you're in bad shape," Qrow pointed out with one of his eyebrows raised. Figuring that his opponent was in no condition to fight, he decided to secure his weapon at his back. "Hey, I suggest you give up."

"Never," Jin muttered. Without warning, Hazama came crashing into him from the side, much to his shock.

"What the hell?" Qrow muttered, shocked as well. The Huntsman turned to the direction where Hazama came from, and the sight which greeted his eyes shocked him further.

Kval stood there in the distance with his blood oozing from his open wound. He landed his gaze on Qrow, and tilted his head slightly. Behind him, Qrow could easily make out Ruby and the others, who seemed to be keeping their distance away from the boy.

In instinct, Qrow took out his sword once more and prepared himself. "The hell is wrong with you?"

Kval didn't answer. Instead, he enveloped his entire body in dark green energy.

Qrow had to admit, the grin across the boy's face was a tad bit creepy.

"What? You ain't gonna talk?"

The boy charged forward without warning, summoning a bunch of green serpents all around him to take on Qrow.

The Huntsman jumped into the air and blasted some of the serpents away with his weapon. He landed back down to the ground, and rushed in towards Kval in order to engage him in battle up-close and personal.

* * *

Ruby could only stare at Kval in horror, covering her mouth with both hands. She fell to her knees, eyes widening.

"What's…happening to him?"

* * *

 **Well, that was a thing...**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **To those who don't know, Monty passed away on February 1, which is today. May the kindhearted man rest in peace. As thanks for being one of the most amazing people that I've ever known, I decided to include him in my story. Though, he won't get that much screen time. I hope you'll forgive me for that.**

 **Thanks for the support everyone!**

 **I'll see you guys again in Phase 24!**


	24. Phase 24

**Welcome to Phase 24 of Still Alive!**

 **Thanks for the support! If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have made it this far. Also, I'm sorry if this seems a bit late...and weird.**

 **RWBY Volume 3 is about to end soon, and I'd say that it's awesome. The feels were a bit too much...but those things never really bother me.** **RWBY has certainly improved a lot through the years, hasn't it?**

 **It's all thanks to you, Monty Oum. May you rest in peace.**

 **Anyway, time for you guys to read. I hope you'll enjoy!**

 **I do not own RWBY or BlazBlue.**

* * *

Team RWBY and Velvet silently waited outside the door leading to the infirmary, each and every one of them deep in their own thoughts. Out of all of them, Ruby was the most worried. The girl couldn't even stay still, as she kept her gaze on the door where her teammate was currently being treated.

As a team leader, Ruby was supposed to be worried, but deep down she knew it was something else.

She just didn't know what it was.

Ruby and the others were brought back to reality when they heard the sounds of footsteps in the distance. Turning to the end of the hallway, they saw Professor Goodwitch, who was accompanied by Hazama and Qrow.

"How is he holding up?" Qrow asked them as he stares at the door with his hands shoved down his pockets. Yang can only shake her head at the question, as she answered, "We haven't heard any news from them yet."

"I see," was all he managed to say as he looks down at his feet.

Qrow stayed like that for a few seconds, then slowly turns to Ruby. The girl had her back to him with her hands balled up into fists, and that was clearly a bad sign.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what I did to your friend earlier. I was afraid what the kid might do to you if I didn't do anything."

"I was so close. I saw it in his eyes too…and you…impaled him," she said as a few drops of tears fell from her eyes. The others simply looks away from the scythe wielder, not knowing what they should do or say. Judging by the expressions on each of their faces, the memory clearly made them feel uncomfortable.

"You did what!?" Professor Goodwitch shouts in utter shock as she stares at the professional Huntsman, "Qrow, you could have killed him!"

"I guess I left that little detail. My bad." Qrow scratches his head, before saying, "I was panicked…and how should I know that he didn't have an Aura to protect him?"

Ruby clearly had enough of this, and decided to run down the hallway with tears trickling down her cheeks. She ignored the others as they called out to her, and kept on running without any destination in mind.

"Ruby!" Yang calls out, but was unfortunately ignored.

Qrow didn't dare to say anything, so he kept himself quiet instead of calling out to Ruby like how the others were currently doing, staring at the ground as he did. However, he was then caught off-guard when Professor Goodwitch smacked him at the back of his head, prompting the man to give her an annoyed look.

"That hurts!"

"You deserved it, but it clearly wasn't enough," she told him with the most terrifying glare that she could muster, which made him avert his gaze elsewhere in slight fear. "Just wait until Ozpin hears of this."

He had learned long ago to not mess with strict women such as Glynda Goodwitch, or else he was going to regret it for the rest of his life. So he stayed silent, rubbing the back of his neck nervously at that.

"We're…just gonna head back to our dorm room for now, if that's alright," Yang said, earning a nod from Professor Goodwitch.

"You may, and I'll notify you if I get any news about your teammate's recovery." The strict professor pinched the bridge of her nose, and shook her head, "I swear, things have been getting a lot more hectic around here lately."

"Come on Yang, let her be," Blake calls out to her partner, placing her hand on the blonde's shoulder, "After everything that's happened today, it's clear that she needs some time to herself."

"Yeah…" Yang quietly said as she walked down the hallway, followed by her teammates not too far behind her.

"I'm going to find the rest of my team, so I'll see you guys later." Velvet waves at them, earning a nod from Blake.

"Be safe," the cat faunus told her with a small smile.

Once she was certain that Team RWBY was gone, Glynda Goodwitch turns to Hazama, folding her arms as she scowled.

"You."

"Me."

"Why aren't you handing that dangerous man to the police?"

Hazama raises an eyebrow as he answered, "Well for one, I don't think the police can handle him, let alone keep him in one place. Second, I know that man quite well, and he has a tendency to pick fights with random people, which is why I'm going to keep an eye on him. And third, I'm going to need him."

The last one caught her interest, "You're going to need him for what exactly?"

"Things that you wouldn't understand." And with that, he turns around and walks away, smiling slyly as he did. "I told Professor Ozpin about this, and he approved."

Glynda's eyes grew wide at the sudden revelation, "What!?"

The man in the trench coat can't help chuckling as he kept on walking, before he was finally out of sight.

"Despite his looks, that man is dangerous. I can sense it," Qrow muttered, then looks over at Glynda, "Where did you guys found him anyway?"

"We didn't."

"I beg your pardon?"

Glynda shakes her head and sighs, before answering, "One of our second year students found him injured in an alley somewhere in Vale. Velvet Scarlatina, the one with the rabbit ears earlier, had found him."

Qrow gave her a blank stare, then tilts his head slightly, "What?"

* * *

After running for several minutes with tears trickling down her cheeks, Ruby found an empty classroom and immediately went inside. The little scythe wielder shuts the door behind her and sat at the corner of the classroom, hugging her knees tightly.

Feeling slightly better after she was done crying, the girl wipes away her tears and sighs. She stares at the ground in front of her, then slowly pulls her hood over her head, "I was so close…"

It happened so fast.

The moment she saw his eyes, Ruby knew it was him.

She had hope, but everything soon changed when Qrow interfered.

The little scythe wielder closes her eyes, as she replayed the events that had happened from earlier in her head.

* * *

 _"Kazuma!"_

 _The boy slowly turns his head to look at her,_ _while_ _the others were staring at her in shock. Ruby didn't care,_ _and_ _she took a step forwar_ _d as she_ _ignor_ _ed_ _the shouts from the others._

 _Qrow stares at his young niece as if she was crazy, and_ _yell_ _ed_ _,_ _"Kid! Stay away from him!"_

 _"I know what I'm doing!"_

 _To be honest, she didn't._

 _"Are you nuts!?"_ _h_ _e shouted, and immediately_ _prepares_ _his weapon when Kval began to walk in his niece's direction. "Hey! Get your_ _butt_ _back here!"_

 _Kval simply ignored Qrow as he slowly made his way towards Ruby with his knives in each of his hands. The girl stood her ground_ _as she_ _star_ _es_ _at him, legs trembling in fear. She focuse_ _s_ _her attention on his face, trying her hardest to ignore the open wound on his stomach._

 _The fight between the two had been going on for long enough_ _. I_ _f she didn't do something, Kval might eventually bleed to death. Hazama was out cold, along with Jin, which means that she was on her own._

 _So Ruby decided to do the first thing that came to her mind._

 _She was going to talk to him._

 _"Kazuma? W-_ _W_ _hat's wrong?"_

 _The boy immediately stops himself, staring at her._

 _"I-_ _I_ _t's me, Ruby…y-your team leader, d-don't you remember?"_ _s_ _he told him as she took a step forward, and let out a squeak when Kval began walking towards her again. "Kazuma?"_

 _"Ruby! Get out of there now!" Qrow shouted._

 _Ruby didn't dare to move away at this point_ _. And even if she did,_ _her legs_ _simply_ _wouldn't_ _budge_ _. Before she knew it, Kval was right there in front of her. The_ _boy_ _stares down at he_ _r with his serpentine eyes_ _,_ _and_ _she stared back at him with her own silver eyes._

 _"Kazuma…d-don't you remember me?"_ _s_ _he managed to asked with her trembling_ _voice_ _, tears forming in her eyes_ _,_ _"W-_ _W_ _hat's gotten into you?"_

 _Kval slowly reached out his hand for her face, said hand_ _engulf_ _ed in dark green energy._

 _"W-_ _W_ _e're friends…a-aren't we?"_

 _After hearing that, the boy's hand immediately came to a halt,_ _as_ _the green energy on his hand_ _began to_ _slowly fade away. He stares into her silver eyes, the look of pure shock on his face, with a little_ _mixture_ _of fear._

 _It's as if the boy had finally realized where and who he was._

 _Ruby's eyes were filled with hope as she saw the look in his eyes_ _,_ _"Kazuma? A-_ _A_ _re you okay?"_

 _The boy slowly drops his hand to his side, not tearing his gaze away from the younger girl's eyes. He opens his mouth to speak, which caused Ruby to move_ _somewhat_ _closer to him._

 _Sadly, before he could say anything, he was immediately impaled by a large blade through his back._ _Kval_ _was speechless, as he stares down at the blade at his stomach with his eyes widen in shock._

 _Ruby stares at the bloodied blade in horror,_ _before_ _she_ _set her eyes on the_ _person standing_ _behind Kval._

 _"Uncle…Qrow?"_

* * *

Ruby was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the door opening. She quickly wipes away her tears and pulls her hood up, and saw a man in a black coat staring down at her with worry etched across his face.

"Are you okay?"

Ruby quickly stood up, clearing her throat afterwards, "I-I'm fine."

"Hm?" The man tilts his head, "You don't seem like it."

"I'm…" Ruby stares at the ground and sighs, "…maybe I'm not fine."

The man walks over to her and places his hand on her shoulder. He gave her a comforting smile, and said, "You want to talk about it?"

Ruby averts her gaze away from him, "I…I don't think I want to." Then, she finally realized that she hadn't introduced herself yet. "O-Oh! L-Let me introduce myself! My name is Ruby Rose!" The girl held out her hand, smiling sheepishly, "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself earlier."

The man stares at her hand, before taking it as he smiled warmly, "My name is Monty Oum. It's a pleasure to meet you."

After hearing the man's name, her eyes grew wide in shock, "Y-You're Monty!? O-One of the most famous Huntsmen in all of Remnant!?"

Monty gave her a sheepish smile as he scratches his head with his other hand, "That's me. And don't tell anyone that I'm here. Ozpin is the only one who currently knows, because he hired me."

"Oh…" She nods, before squealing with delight, "I'm holding your hand right now!"

Monty can't help but laugh at the girl's behavior, as he releases her hand, "Come on now, you're flattering me."

"I just can't help it!" Ruby exclaimed.

The man chuckles, then tilts his head slightly, "Anyway, why were you crying earlier?"

The young team leader immediately froze in place, then a sad look came upon her face as she stares at her feet, "A lot of things happened today."

"Team problems?" Monty asked, smiling slightly.

"Yeah…"

"I understand. I went through the same thing when I was the leader of my own team back in the day." He looks up at the ceiling with his hands in his pockets, the look of nostalgia on his face.

Out of curiosity, Ruby decided to ask, "Where are they now?"

"You mean my teammates?" Monty said to her, in which she nodded. "Well, we live in the same house together…as a team."

"Really!?" Ruby stares at him with one hand covering her mouth.

Monty nodded. "Of course, there were times when we almost lost one another when we were on dangerous missions together. But lady luck was always on our side, and there were also times when I almost got myself killed too."

Ruby kept herself quiet as she listened to him, nodding a few times.

"There was this one time when I was stranded in a Grimm infested forest after my Bullhead was taken down by a large Nevermore. The pilots were already dead by the time I woken up, so I was alone."

Ruby's eyes grew wide at that, "Where was your team!?"

Monty shakes his head. "I went alone on that mission," he explains, earning a surprise gasp from the little scythe wielder. "It was one hell of a nightmare, and I had to fight through endless waves of Grimm just to get myself out of that forest."

"H-How did you managed to survive throughout the incident?"

"You really want to know?" he asked before chuckling, prompting the girl to nod her head a few times. "It's quite simple really. I kept on telling myself to keep moving forward."

Ruby gave him a quizzical look, and tilts her head in a cute manner, "That's it?"

"That's it," he nods with a small grin.

She stares at him in awe, "Wow…"

Monty let out a chuckle and ruffled her hair slightly, "When you're in trouble, you should tell yourself that too. It helps."

"I-I will!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Ozpin told me a lot about you, and from what I've heard, you're going to be a great leader one day," Monty told her, prompting the little girl to blush slightly.

"T-Thanks…"

Monty pulls his hand back as he smiled, "You should find your team, because it's getting quite late." The man looks at his wrist watch, then added, "Well, I should go. It's nice talking to you."

With this, Monty turns himself around and heads for the door, smiling all the while.

"I-It's nice talking to you too!" Ruby called out to him as she saw the man exiting the classroom, staring down at her hands soon after, "Then it's settled…" She drops her hands to her sides, the look of determination etched across her features as she headed towards the door.

"I'm going to see Kazuma!"

* * *

A couple of knocks could be heard from Team RWBY's door.

The girls exchanged confused glances at first, before Blake stood up and went for the door, opening it. Glynda Goodwitch stood there with a scroll in hand, nodding her head towards Blake as greeting.

"May I come in?"

"C-Come in!" Blake stammered as she moves to the side, allowing the strict professor inside their room. Once the door was closed, Blake and the others stares at the professor.

"Well? Anything?" Yang asked somewhat worriedly.

"The doctors told me he was going to be fine, but needs a lot of rest. Two days at best. Also, no injuries could be found on his body when they started the treatment. In the end, the doctors could only take a couple of notes as they tried a few tests on him," Professor Goodwitch explains, causing the others in the room to sigh in relief.

"Thank goodness," Blake places her hand on her forehead, smiling slightly. Weiss can't help but smile as well as she looks over at Blake, and said, "At least we know he's going to be alright."

"Ruby would be so glad to hear this," Yang said to herself.

Professor Goodwitch then clears her throat, gaining their undivided attention. "There are two things that I would like to ask you," Glynda stares at each of them, taking the silence as a sign to continue, "What in Remnant caused your teammate to behave in such a manner?"

Yang looks to her teammates, before shrugging as she shook her head, "We…don't know."

Glynda let out a deep sigh at that, as she muttered, "I can't say I didn't expect that." Looking back at each of them, she then continued, "Now, for my second question."

"Shoot," Yang told her.

"How did you girls managed to calm him down?"

Yang and the others blinked a few times in confusion. "Um…we didn't really do anything," she scratches her head as she says that, "Honestly, we were pretty scared at that time…so we ended up doing absolutely nothing."

"Then what about Miss Rose?"

"She…" Weiss trails off, but then her eyes grew wide in realization, "…she was the one who stopped him."

This caused Blake and Yang to realize it as well. The two partners then looks to each other, and nodded.

"Is this true?" Professor Goodwitch asked them.

Blake looks to her teammates, then at the strict professor. "It's true."

Glynda stared Blake in the eyes, then nods as she added, "In that case, I want you three to tell me what Miss Rose did to calm him down. It might come in handy in the future."

The room became silent for a brief moment, that is until Blake decided to ask, "A-Are you saying that Kazuma will behave the same way again in the future?"

The strict professor looks at each of them, then focuses her gaze on her scroll.

"It's a possibility."

* * *

"Are you done?"

"Shut your trap!" Kokonoe turns to Kagura, scowling at him, "The preparations will be done in a few minutes, so be patient!"

"I can wait for three days if you want, but she can't," Kagura points to Tsubaki, who was currently talking to Noel and Makoto about how she was going to rescue Jin and bringing him back. "She's getting restless." He sighs, earning a glare from the cat beastkin, "What?"

"Kagura, this mission is extremely important. If I see you come back empty-handed, Tager is going to crush you like a freaking cockroach," she said to him with a deadly look in her eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"

Kagura nervously adjusted his collar as he slowly lands his gaze on the Red Devil who was standing at the corner. Tager simply stares back at him, before the gigantic beast adjusted his glasses with a small smirk on his face.

Kagura then quickly looks to Kokonoe, grinning nervously as he did, "Y-You can definitely count on me!"

Kokonoe nodded as she resumed her work, "Good, now go and prepare yourself while I fix this thing."

"Wait a minute, shouldn't we tell Ragna about this?"

The mad scientist stayed silent for a couple of seconds, before answering, "He doesn't need to know. At least not yet."

* * *

 **Now that's out of the way, I can finally get some rest...or not.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

 **Here comes a new character! Yes, another BlazBlue character is entering the world of Remnant!** **I can only put two characters at a time, so please be patient. Other than that, I've already planned the others, so don't worry.**

 **Anyway, who else out there would pay for a scene where a pissed off Raven is fighting against Adam?**

 **Also, if any of you guys wants to create a BlazBlue X RWBY Story, please do. I'm really interested to read them. The series can go rather well together if you're creative enough. Hey moki-san, I saw what you did there...hehe...keep up the good work!**

 **Thanks again for the support guys, and I'll see you guys later in Phase 25!**


	25. Phase 25

**Welcome to Phase 25 of Still Alive!**

 **First of all, I am terribly sorry for the late update. I was being lazy and got caught up in watching Hunter X Hunter. Could you guys imagine it? Me watching RWBY and Hunter X Hunter at the same time? Two series that has tons of feels in it?**

 **Anyway, I got exams next week so I won't be updating anytime soon.**

 **Other than that, RWBY Volume 3 has finally ended. I'd give it a 9 out of 10! I'm just disappointed that Fox didn't get much screen time...but at least we know about Velvet's weapon, right?**

 **Well, I would like to thank you all for your continued support. You guys are amazing! And because of Volume 3, I've got a lot more ideas cooking up inside of my head right now. An** **yhow, I hope you enjoy Phase 25.**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

* * *

Ruby was entirely confused at this point.

A second ago she was filled with determination, but after reaching the door leading to Kval's current room, she was nothing more than a nervous wreck. How that happened so quickly was beyond her.

Taking in a deep breath to calm herself down, Ruby exhaled sharply and attempted to reach for the door.

Only to stop halfway when she felt all nervous again.

"Why is this so hard?" Ruby asked herself with a frustrated sigh. She glared at the door knob with her cheeks puffed out in a cute manner.

There was no turning back now. It was around midnight, so if she were to get caught by Professor Goodwitch, it's end game for her.

She would just have to apologize to her sister and teammates later. Right now, she had a job to do.

Talking to Kval.

Easier said than done.

"Maybe…I should turn back," she said, but the idea was immediately thrown out of her head, "N-No…I'll do it right now."

Ruby nodded to herself and reached for the door knob once more. Though, the urge to jump in surprise was too much for her, as the door suddenly opened by itself.

"Eep!"

The door stopped moving halfway, revealing the darkness inside. Ruby squinted her eyes to get a better look, only for her to nearly wet herself upon witnessing a pair of yellow orbs glowing in the darkness.

"U-Uh…um…" She can't help but squeak when the door quickly slammed shut. Ruby blinked a couple of times in utter confusion, before realization dawned on her. "Wait a minute…you're awake!?"

She received no answer.

"H-Hey! Open up!" Ruby called out. She proceeded to knock on the door repeatedly. "That's an order!"

Figuring that Ruby wouldn't stop torturing the door with her nonstop knocking, the person inside finally decided to open the door. In an instant, all the lights in the room went on, revealing Kval who was standing in the doorway with bandages wrapped around his stomach. He stared at Ruby through half-lidded eyes, being unusually silent.

Ruby took note of how shirtless he was, which prompted her to look away with a bright blush. The little Huntress-in-training began to fidget, but after a moment, she decided to focus her eyes on his face once more.

The caring smile he gave her was a bit unexpected.

"Thanks for being there for me, Ruby."

Without thinking, the little scythe wielder pulled him in a tight hug with tears welling up in her eyes. She buried her head in his chest.

"I was worried sick…"

The young vessel said nothing as he stared down at her head, smiling slightly. He gave her a soft pat on the head, holding her close with his other arm.

"Sorry," was all he could say to her.

* * *

"You bastard! Release me this instant!" Jin growled. He attempted to free himself from Ouroboros, to no avail.

"Major Kisaragi, can you _please_ calm yourself for a second?" Hazama sighed. He rubbed his forehead as an attempt to kill his headache, adding, "I won't kill you, but I need your help."

"As if I'd help you." Jin scowled. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide when realization dawned on him. He began to look around frantically. "Where's Yukianesa!?"

"Oh…uh…" Hazama looked around his office, eventually spotting the sheathed blade which was somewhere on his desk. The man smiled, "There it is."

The moment Jin saw his weapon, he couldn't resist the urge to sigh. He slowly turned his head to Hazama, glaring at him. "What do you want, you scum?"

"Oh my, is it me or did you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"Spit it out already!"

And with this, Hazama leaned back in his chair and muttered, "You're no fun…"

"Just get to the point."

Hazama rolled his eyes and leaned forward, taking off his fedora.

"Terumi and I…well, we're not working together anymore," he told Jin, gaining his full attention and interest, "I want him dead, and…" He cleared his throat, staring at Yukianesa from the corner of his eyes. "…I need your help."

Jin raised an eyebrow at this.

"Did you seriously think that I would consider helping a bastard like you?"

"Come on!" Hazama yelled, frustrated beyond belief. He buried his face in his hands, causing Jin to smirk slightly. "Asking for help is against my morales but…damn it…"

"I must admit, watching you acting like this is rather enjoyable," Jin said, earning a glare from Hazama.

"Shut your trap!" the man yelled, "This is frustrating…"

"Now you are just being childish." Jin scoffed with his gaze elsewhere.

"Shut it!" Hazama scowled.

"If you insist."

"Look, we both have the same goal here. So I suggest we work together, find that good for nothing maniac, and put an end to his existence. It's _that_ simple," Hazama explained to Jin, sounding a bit desperate for his help. "Heck, if Ragna was here, I'd gladly work alongside him to find the bastard…and maybe annoy him as well in my free time."

Jin perked up at the mention of his brother. He closed his eyes to think deeply and, after a few seconds, he finally made his decision.

Jin slowly opened his eyes and landed his gaze on Hazama, who was slumped in his chair.

"Fine, I'll lend you a hand."

"Eh?" Hazama stared at Jin, bewildered.

"Don't act all friendly with me, you snake. Try anything funny, and I'll kill you on the spot."

Hazama merely rolled his eyes in response to that. "I'm not gonna thank you or anything…"

Jin stared at the man for a brief moment. Curiosity got the better of him, so he decided to ask an unexpected question.

"Who's the mother?"

"Huh?" Hazama narrowed his eyes at Jin, confused, "I don't understand your question."

"The green-haired brat is your son, is he not?"

"What!? Hell no!" Hazama yelled as Ouroboros slowly uncoiled itself from Jin, dropping him to the ground. "He's just another vessel created for Terumi back in the day when the Black Beast was still rampaging around. You're one messed up bastard to think I would marry someone."

"It was the first thing that came to mind," Jin shrugged.

Hazama said nothing, other than grumbling a few things under his breath.

* * *

"What the hell are these things!?" Kagura exclaimed. He knocked another Beowolf away with his zweihander, while Tsubaki was handling a few others on her own.

"Don't let them swarm you!" Tsubaki warned him, stabbing the head of a Beowolf with her sword.

 **"Ryūjinshō!"** The Black Knight turned around and jumped in the air with his sword swung upwards, tearing a poor Beowolf in half. He landed back on the ground with a grin after that, nodding in agreement. "I'll try to not let them get me," he said, knocking a Beowolf away by smashing the blunt side of his zweihander into the side of its head without looking.

 **"Shingi: Hirameku Ichi no Geki!"** Tsubaki charged herself forward at a pack of Beowolves, using her book as a shield. In an instant, the Beowolves were sent flying away in all directions. Some managed to recover in midair, while some were unfortunate enough to get most of their bones broken.

Once Kagura was done dealing with his own pack of annoying Beowolves, he decided to finish the job by clearing the remaining ones which were scattered around by Tsubaki, allowing the girl to catch her breath.

Not that she needed to, anyway.

Tsubaki stared blankly at the blade she was holding, deep within her own thoughts.

"Despite their looks, these things are pretty much like roaches in my book." The Black Knight brought his weapon down on the last remaining Beowolf, killing it instantly. He turned around and noticed Tsubaki, and felt slightly worried. "Tsubaki, how are you holding up?"

She stopped staring at her weapon and gave him a small smile. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about…things."

Kagura walked up to her and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder, grinning. "We'll find him, so don't worry about it too much."

She looked to him, before nodding with determination in her eyes. "Y-You're right."

"Good." He pulled his hand away and scanned his surroundings. He couldn't see much since it was dark, so he sighed. "Well, I'm guessing we're in some sort of forest."

"Should we camp for the night?" Tsubaki asked, earning a small shrug from the man in return.

"Your choice, but it's probably a good idea." He placed the small bag he'd been carrying around on the ground, rummaging through it. He pulled out two cans of baked beans, holding one of it out towards Tsubaki. "Here."

She took the can, smiling gratefully. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He started rummaging through the bag again, grinning as he did so. "Just go get some rest while I prepare the fire. I'll be the first to keep watch."

"Are you sure?"

"Do you even know who you're talking to?"

"Good point."

* * *

To say that she felt like crap was an understatement.

Neo hissed in complete pain as she slowly opened her eyes. She took note of the fact that she couldn't move. She looked down, and the first thing she saw was her blade, which was smeared with blood. Her eyes grew wide in horror upon realizing the situation she was in.

Neo was nailed on the wall with her own weapon, and was bleeding badly.

The psycho she fought from earlier was insanely strong, and it's a miracle she survived. She looked around to see if she could find help, but her hands began to tremble in fear when she saw the dead bodies of White Fang soldiers all around her.

Neo looked down at the blade and took in a deep breath, before quickly grabbing the hilt of her weapon and began pulling it out of her with all the strength she could muster. She bit her tongue to keep herself from screaming, her eyes tightly shut.

The blade clattered against the cold floor once she had pulled it out. Neo held her midsection to keep herself from bleeding too much, sweating all the while.

After that hellish fight with the psychopath, it was safe to say that her Aura wasn't going to heal up her wounds anytime soon.

Neo sat herself up and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. That's when she spotted a small medical kit from the corner of her eyes, which made her sigh in relief. The short girl took a second to catch her breathing, and proceeded to crawl her way towards the kit with all the energy she had left.

"Here, let me help you," a voice said from behind her.

Neo's eyes grew wide when the unfamiliar voice reached her ears. And before she knew it, the man grabbed her by the arm and lifted her up gently. He allowed her to lean against him for support, and she was a bit grateful for that.

Neo slowly looked up to get a clear view of her helper. The first thing she saw was the Grimm mask covering the upper part of his face, before noticing his red hair. She also took note of the horns on his head, which made her realize that this person was a faunus.

"I'm not going to hurt you, human," he assured her as they began to carefully make their way towards the medical kit.

"My name is Adam Taurus."

* * *

Ruby was sitting in a chair at the side of the bed, being as quiet as she could be. The girl stared at Kval as he prepared some tea, and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't feel awkward.

Kval was humming a small happy tune as he did his work, smiling slightly. Once he was done, he took the cups and went to Ruby, handing her one of said cups.

It's as if he's acting like none of the events from earlier ever happened.

"Thanks," Ruby mumbled, taking the cup from him. She took a little sip of the tea, and was surprised at how good it actually tasted.

But then something caught her eyes.

Kval's hand was trembling, which caused some of the hot tea to spill on his hand. He paid no mind to the pain, however.

"Kazuma?" Ruby called out. She noticed that his smile was nowhere to be seen, and it made her feel worried.

The boy quickly turned to her, still not minding the pain. "Y-Yes?"

"You're hurting yourself," she pointed out, looking to the small cup he was holding to prove her point. "Are you feeling okay?"

"No…I'm not," he muttered, much to Ruby's surprise.

Before Ruby had a chance to say anything, she was shocked to see him downing the whole freshly made tea, and was shocked further when he showed no signs of pain.

Kval threw the small plastic cup in the trash can when he was finished, muttering, "That was hot. But I needed that."

Ruby sat in her chair in stunned silence, baffled.

The young vessel looked to his hand, noticing the hot liquid. "So that's why you were worried…"

"Kazuma!" Ruby took his hand and began to wipe it clean with a tissue, glaring cutely at it.

That's when she felt something warm touching her skin, and she soon realized that her hand was slightly wet for some odd reason.

"Huh?"

More came down on her hand, and she was confused at this point. Ruby decided to turn her head up.

However, before she could, Kval wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her head.

Ruby's response?

She blushed madly.

"H-Huh!? Kazuma!?"

The fact he was shirtless made her even more embarrassed.

"I'm very sorry," he whispered, "I could've killed you. I-I didn't know what came over me. I'm so sorry."

Upon hearing those words, Ruby finally understood what was happening.

Ruby buried her head deeper into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. The girl closed her eyes, smiling slightly. "You don't need to apologize, Kazuma. I'm just glad you're still alive…and safe."

He began sobbing, and pressed his chin against the top of her head. "B-But…you could've died because of me. I-I…I could've killed you."

"It's okay," Ruby assured him. She pulled her head back, revealing the tears which were welling up in her eyes. "You're alive, and that's all that matters to me."

Kval looked to her, and lowered his gaze. "B-But…"

She sighed and kicked his shin, glaring at him. "I said it's fine. Now stop apologizing." She sniffled, wiping away her tears as she did so. "Kazuma, it's all in the past. The important thing is we're all still here."

"S-Sorry…"

Ruby glared at him.

"I did it again, didn't I?" Kval rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't help it."

"H-Hey, can I…ask you something?" Ruby asked, eyes on the floor as her cheeks suddenly went red.

Kval wiped his tears away with his sleeve, looking at her. "W-What is it, Ruby?"

Ruby took a step back and began fidgeting. "W-Well…you see…u-um…" She closed her eyes and cleared her throat. "W-What were you going to say to me?"

"Eh?" Kval tilted his head to the side.

"J-Just seconds before you went unconscious, you were about to tell me something," she explained to him.

The boy took a few seconds to recall what he was going to say at that time, and that's when it all clicked.

"O-Oh…"

Suddenly, his cheeks began to turn red for some reason.

"N-Now I remember."

Ruby smiled at him. "Well, what is it?"

Kval scratched his reddened cheek, looking at the ceiling as he did. "U-Uh…it's nothing important."

Ruby pouted. "Please?"

"I'm sorry Ruby, but I can't tell you," Kval told her with a nervous smile, prompting the girl to grumble to herself. "Come on, don't be like that."

"But I'm curious! It's no fair!" she yelled, punching him in the gut without thinking. Ruby gasped in horror when she saw Kval holding his gut in utter pain. "Oh no! Kazuma, I'm so sorry! I'm very sorry! Oh dust!"

"I-I think you broke something…" He fell to his knees, wincing.

Ruby quickly helped him up, feeling guilty. "I'm so sorry…I-I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Hehe…I can't believe you actually fell for it."

"What do you mean?" Ruby gave him a puzzled look. She narrowed her eyes when the boy began to laugh uncontrollably. "Hey! W-What's so funny?"

Kval didn't answer. Instead, he kept on laughing.

The little Huntress-in-training was confused at this point, that is until she saw her teammate unwrapping the bandages around his stomach.

Ruby was flabbergasted upon seeing no injuries on his stomach. She stomped her foot on the ground like an angered child, growling.

"That wasn't funny! I thought I really did broke something!"

"I-I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it…hehe…" He chuckled a bit. "I didn't really have any injuries on me in the first place."

Ruby can't help but blush upon seeing his smile, which prompted her to look away from him in pure embarrassment.

That feeling was back, and this time at full force.

After taking the time to think hard about it when she was in the empty hallway, Ruby finally found her answer.

And she wasn't denying it or anything. It was true, after all.

Hanging around him made her extra happy, shy, and awkward at the same time. Hell, just by looking at that smile of his made her want to jump out of the nearest window in embarrassment.

"Hey Kazuma, I've got something to tell you," Ruby said somewhat shyly, blushing, "I-It's important…sort of."

"Sure, I'm listening," Kval told her, grinning.

Well, it was now or never.

"Well…u-um…I've been having this weird feeling lately…every time I'm around you…" Ruby said that last part a bit too quietly, unsure if she should tell him.

However, Kval had heard it quite clearly, which caused him to freeze in his spot.

Figuring that he wasn't planning on saying anything, Ruby continued.

"A-At first, I didn't know what this feeling was, so I ignored it. B-But after it kept on bugging me without stopping…i-it somehow…became clearer to me now."

"Uh…" Kval said as an attempt to get the girl's attention, but he was unfortunately ignored.

"S-So I…I'm just gonna say it." She took in a deep breath, and exhaled. Ruby looked to him with her cheeks bright red, and she took a step forward. "I…I think I have a crush on you." She quickly closed her eyes and waited for his outburst.

But it never came.

Ruby slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that Kval was staring at her with a massive blush on his face. She could easily tell that he was at a loss for words at the moment.

But can you really blame him?

"I…wow…I can't believe it." He gulped and covered his reddened face with his hand, much to the girl's confusion.

"W-What are you talking about?" she asked somewhat curiously.

"Remember that time when you and the others wanted to know why I rejected Velvet?" Kval said, and Ruby furrowed her eyebrows. "Do you want to know why?"

"Y-Yeah…I mean, I'm curious now," Ruby said, nodding her head a few times.

"Well, it's because I was already interested in someone else," Kval explained, smiling all the while.

"Oh…" Ruby's eyes widened, before the look of sadness took over her pale features. She immediately forced a smile, not wanting to look sad in front of her first crush. "I-I see…"

"And you want to know what Velvet told me after she got rejected?"

Ruby nodded, but in truth she was mildly interested. The poor girl was currently busy with her own thoughts. "Sure…"

"Velvet said that she hoped the person who I'm interested in will return my feelings," Kval said to Ruby with a smile, which now gained her full attention.

The room went silent.

"W-What?" Ruby went wide-eyed when she started to slowly piece it all together, while her cheeks grew redder as seconds passed by.

Kval's cheeks matched hers, and he lowered his gaze. "W-Well…you see…I uh…I kinda like you too…"

The little scythe wielder stared at him with her mouth hung open, blushing madly.

"I uh…shocked you, didn't I?"

Without warning, Ruby zipped her way towards Kval and ended up sending him down on the bed, along with her.

Kval's entire face was completely red at this point. He stared at the little reaper in utter shock. "Ruby! W-What in the world are you doing!?"

"S-Shut up! I can't help it!" Ruby yelled, hugging him tightly. She stopped her actions for a moment, and looked him in the eyes. "Why didn't you tell me about your feelings sooner?"

Kval chose this particular moment to look away. "I didn't really want people to call me a pedophile because of your age. Other than that, your sister kinda scares me."

"Oh…" Ruby muttered. "S-So, does this mean…we're a thing now?" she asked somewhat shyly, staring into his serpentine eyes with her silver ones.

Kval stayed silent for a brief moment, but then a happy smile made its sudden appearance across his features. "What do _you_ think?"

Ruby blushed harder at the unexpected question, eyes downcast as she nodded. "Y-You're teasing me…a-aren't you?"

Kval said nothing as he grinned. He brushed his thumb across her cheek, which earned himself a cute noise from the girl. "You're so adorable."

Ruby wasted no time in burying her head in his chest upon hearing those words. "S-Stop teasing me!"

"Fine, I'll stop." Kval chuckled.

But just like that, his eyes glowed faintly as the look on his face turned serious.

"No matter what happens…I'll do my best to protect you, Ruby."

* * *

 **To all passengers, this is your captain speaking. Artificial Rose has set sail! I repeat, Artificial Rose has set sail!**

 **I'm quite surprised that no one gives a damn about Neo when she first confronted Terumi. I wasn't planning on killing her or anything.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the Phase, and thanks for all the support!**

 **I'll be seeing you guys again later in Phase 26.**

 **Peace out you cool dudes!**


	26. Phase 26

**Welcome to Phase 26 of Still Alive!**

 **Surprise! Were you surprised? Well, were you?**

 **Anyway, thanks for the link Doshes, but sadly it didn't work. I'm still going to thank you either way, because it's not everyday where someone decides to lend you a hand when you're in trouble. However, the moment I stumbled upon WPS Writer, I knew luck was on my side.**

 **Other than that, thank you so much for the continued support guys! I just need 2 more favorites. 2 more favorites to reach 100! Somebody help! My OCD is freakin' killing me!**

 **Okay, enough nonsense. It's time to read!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

Yang knew for a fact that she had a right to be worried, and no one else was allowed to say otherwise.

Why?

The moment she'd woken up just seconds ago, the first thing which she came to realise was that her little sister was _still_ nowhere to be seen.

Hell, she _deserved_ to be worried.

And it also didn't help that countless of possibilities ran through her mind. _Bad_ possibilities.

There was the possibility of Ruby running around in the Emerald Forest, where she could've taken out her anger on a bunch of Beowolves. Then there was this _other_ possibility that involved Ruby crying herself to sleep which, if it _was_ true, meant that she could be sleeping anywhere in campus at this very moment, alone and unprotected.

Oh Dust...

"Ruby!" Yang called out, eyes widening. She immediately jumped down her bunk bed, unintentionally waking up the other two sleeping occupants inside the room without herself noticing.

"W-What's going on!?" Weiss looked over at the blonde, rubbing one of her eyes tiredly as she did. Blake on the other hand kept herself quiet as she sat herself up in her bed, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Ruby's not here!" Yang exclaimed, her eyes filled with panic and worry.

"If that's the case, then is it not possible that she could've woken up early in order to visit Kazuma who is currently in the infirmary?" Weiss pointed out, eyes narrowing.

Blake nodded, agreeing with Weiss.

Yang stared at Weiss and took a moment to register what she'd said, before blushing due to embarrassment. "Huh. I guess there's that. S-Sorry for waking you guys..."

Blake sighed. "That being said, I'm going to visit Kazuma to see if he's doing okay."

Weiss nodded. "Seeing that Professor Goodwitch had given us a day off, I think we should _all_ go and pay him a visit."

Yang grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

 **-IIXII-**

"Hey, wake up."

Tsubaki mumbled something as she slowly turned to her right, only to snap her eyes wide open when a certain someone decided to pinch her arm. "Ow!" She immediately sat up and gave the person a glare.

"Sleep well?" Kagura asked with a cheeky grin.

"Thanks to you," Tsubaki grumbled. She took a moment to scan her surroundings, and everything seemed to be fine from what she could tell. "Wait a minute," She turned to her companion, realising something. "you kept watch all night?"

Kagura folded his arms and grinned. "You bet!"

Tsubaki furrowed her brows. "Aren't you...tired?"

"I'm fine. Anyway, I think I just discovered something that you might want to see." Kagura held out his hand towards her. She took it, and he wasted no time in pulling her up to her feet. "Follow me," he said.

Tsubaki nodded. She picked up their small rucksack and followed him.

The walk was rather short, and no words were exchanged between the two fighters. They also made sure to keep their eyes on nearby trees and bushes along the way, making sure that they weren't being watched.

Upon reaching their destination, Kagura stopped in his tracks.

Tsubaki wasn't paying attention, however, and thanks to that she accidentally bumped herself into the man's back. "S-Sorry!" She then quickly went to his side. "What did you want me to see?"

Kagura said nothing at first, that is until he decided to point a finger at something in the distance. "Look."

"Hm?" Slowly, Tsubaki turned her head to where he was pointing. What met her eyes soon made her jaw drop. "I-Is that...a crater?"

Kagura nodded. He walked over to the medium-sized crater, examining it with a closer look. "Jin had been here, judging by the looks of things. That being said, this wasn't the only thing I discovered." He looked to a nearby tree, which was damaged beyond belief. "From what I can tell, that was probably his doing."

Tsubaki smiled. "We're getting close! Let's search for him!" She looked around in search of more clues, but was confused when a sigh was heard, which came from Kagura.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now. We have to think things through," Kagura pointed out, earning a pout from the girl. "Now, if I was stuck here, where would I go for answers?"

Tsubaki took a moment to examine her surroundings. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the area so far, but something in the distance caught her eyes. "Um...what about that?"

Kagura turned to where Tsubaki was looking, and soon grinned.

"Well, it's worth a shot."

 **-IIXII-**

"Why the hell are they staring at me like I'm some sort of alien?" Jin grumbled upon noticing the stares which came from the students all around him.

It annoyed him greatly. Immensely to be exact.

"The feeling of being watched by people such as yourselves disgusts me to no end." He scoffed, later gazing down at his weapon when a funny thought came to mind. "Is it because of Yukianesa? Does my weapon look that weird to them?"

He would love to tell them to keep their eyes off of him, but Hazama had clearly said that picking fights with the students would cause unwanted attention and unnecessary trouble. Interacting with the students was fine, sure, but harming them was an entire different story, so there's that.

Speaking of which, every time he saw a group of students chatting with one another, Jin felt nostalgic for some reason. So after taking his time to think hard about what the feeling was about, a small chuckle left his lips when he discovered his answer.

"This somewhat reminds me of my days in the academy. No wonder." Jin gazed down at Yukianesa, as a small smile crept across his face.

"Jaune! Wait for me!" a voice belonging to a female called out, catching Jin's undivided attention. Just by listening to her voice, he could tell that she was late for class.

And it seemed that she was heading his way.

Jin tore his eyes away from his sheathed blade and looked up, just in time to see a blond teenager passing him by with a stack of books in his arms. However, the next person who met his eyes shocked him greatly.

That long red hair, and not to mention that familiar face.

He didn't know what came over him. In instinct, Jin dropped Yukianesa to the floor and grabbed her by the arm, catching the girl completely off-guard.

"Tsubaki!? What are you doing here!?" Jin exclaimed.

She looked to him, surprised. "I...beg your pardon?" She started to feel awkward when everyone began to focus their eyes on them. She blinked rapidly and offered him a small, confused smile. "I-I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong person."

Jin focused on her eyes, and he was surprised to find them green in color, instead of blue. Only then did he realise his mistake. This wasn't Tsubaki.

"My apologies. You just...look a lot like someone I know," Jin muttered. He reached down and picked up his weapon. "How stupid of me, really..."

"I-It's okay! Don't feel bad!" she exclaimed. Being the polite person she was, the girl decided that it would be best to introduce herself, and so she did. "I haven't really introduced myself yet. My name is Pyrrha Nikos. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl, Pyrrha, held out her hand towards him and smiled.

Jin silently stared at her hand. He seemed hesitant at first, but in the end he took it. "Likewise."

The two shook hands at that.

"I've never really seen you before," Pyrrha said. "What's your name?"

"Jin. Jin Kisaragi," Jin answered.

He didn't know why, but treating this girl like trash was wrong for some reason. Maybe it was because she looked a lot like Tsubaki? That had to be it. With that face of hers, it was hard to treat her like everyone else.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Jin," Pyrrha said in a polite manner, smiling a bit. "I have to go now."

"What class are you having?" Jin inquired out of the blue, barely stopping her from sprinting away right then and there.

"Um...Grimm Studies," Pyrrha answered with confusion etched across her features. "Why?"

Jin walked past her. "I'm supposed to be there. Do you mind leading the way, Miss Nikos?"

Pyrrha gave him a puzzled look. "N-No, I don't." She narrowed her eyes. "Not wanting to sound rude or anything, but shouldn't you know where to find it by now? I mean, it's been months since class started."

"I'm a new professor," Jin explained, shocking the girl unintentionally. "You can call me...Professor Kisaragi."

Pyrrha silently stared at him with her mouth hung open, bewildered. Upon noticing that she had been staring, Pyrrha immediately lowered her head, embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry for my behavior, Professor Kisaragi. P-Please, the class is this way!"

Jin chuckled. "Thank you, Miss Nikos. And please, you do not need to be so formal around me."

Maybe working with Hazama wasn't a bad idea after all.

 **-IIXII-**

A painful grunt could be heard from Neo as Adam worked on her wounds. He was currently wrapping some of the bandages around her midsection, since Neo had been complaining about the previous ones being uncomfortable and all that. Her white jacket and black corset were placed neatly on a nearby table, which meant she was half-naked as Adam worked on her.

If it was Roman, she wouldn't have minded one bit, but this was Adam. She barely knew the faunus, but from what she had heard, he was a cruel and ruthless individual who will stop at nothing when it came down to achieving his task.

She can't say that she wasn't being cautious. He could literally kill her at any moment, and that's saying something.

Then there was also that important question which kept bugging her to no end.

Why was he, a faunus who downright hated humanity, was helping someone like her?

Neo poked at his head a couple of times in order to get his attention, in which she did.

"What?"

The girl tilted her head slightly, and later gestured to her wound, which was now covered in bandages.

"Why am I helping you?" Adam asked, in which she nodded. He chuckled at that, and said, "After watching someone as skilled as you getting torn to shreds by that psychopath, why would I not?"

Neo went wide-eyed at that. Scowling, she then slammed her fist down onto the top of his head.

"H-Hey! I was injured at that time! You think I didn't want to help my brothers and sisters dealing with that lunatic!?" Adam snapped, making her flinch unintentionally. Not that he cared, anyway. "You weren't the only one defeated by him, you midget." He scoffed and continued his work, prompting Neo to puff her cheeks out.

That's when she noticed the slight crack on his mask, as well as the bruises which were visible all across his face. That being said, his clothes were tattered, albeit not much.

"I'm going to hunt him down," declared Adam. "The entire plan is falling apart, and I don't know if you've noticed..." He stood up and took off his Grimm mask, revealing his closed eyes. "...but I've decided to not work for that woman anymore. The whole plan can go screw itself."

Neo stared at him, then quickly went up to her feet. She then poked at the bull faunus' arm, gaining his undivided attention.

Adam cracked an eye open. "What is it?"

Neo gave him a small smirk, and proceeded to point at herself with her thumb.

Adam cocked an eyebrow. "You want to help me?"

She nodded.

"I see," was all Adam said in return. He placed the Grimm mask over his eyes once more, smiling all the while. "But make no mistake, midget. Can't keep up with me, and I'll leave you behind. No excuses."

Neo glared at him for the unwanted nickname, only for her to silently sigh moments later.

"Now, grab your clothes while I wait outside," Adam ordered. And with that he made his way to the door, scoffing upon seeing the small blush on Neo's face.

Neo glared at his back, and then proceeded to stick her tongue out in a childish manner.

 **-IIXII-**

"She better be in there," Yang growled, prompting the black and white duo to roll their eyes.

"Calm down, Yang. It's not like they're doing inappropriate things in there or anything," Weiss said.

"Just remember to be quiet once we're inside. Be loud, and the staff members will kick us out," Blake warned, eyeing her blonde partner while doing so.

"I'll keep that in mind," Yang muttered with a roll of her eyes. And with that, she reached for the door knob.

"Kazuma! S-Stop it!" Ruby sounded from the other side of the door.

Weiss and Blake whipped their heads to face each other, wide-eyed. Slowly, the two turned their heads to Yang, and was later terrified to find her fuming. Just to be safe, the black and white duo took a few steps back, not knowing what to expect.

Yang's lilac eyes flickered to red. "I'm so gonna..." Balling up her hand into a fist, she then proceeded to throw a punch right at the door's center, successfully breaking it down. "...kill him!"

Weiss and Blake jumped at that. The two were able to do absolutely nothing as the blonde stormed her way inside the room.

However, upon entering the room, an unexpected sight greeted them.

Ruby, who seemed to be doing just fine with bandages wrapped around her head for some odd reason, stood near Kval with her hands on his stomach, looking as if she'd been trying to push him away. On the other hand, Kval, whose hands were positioned near Ruby's sides, had bandages wrapped around the upper part of his face _and_ around his midsection. Why his eyes were covered, they'd never know.

The little reaper stared at her teammates as if she had been caught with her hand inside a cookie jar, while the young vessel reacted by simply tilting his head to one side, facing the door.

From the looks of things, it seemed that the two had been busy having a tickle fight of sorts.

Clueless as to what was going on, the young vessel called out, "Um...who is it?"

Yang eyed the two in complete silence. But not long after that, she focused her eyes on Kval and cracked her knuckles, grinning widely. "Death has been waiting for you..." she muttered.

"Eh?"

 **-IIXII-**

 **I'm terribly sorry if this seemed short, but I felt like I had to let you guys know that I'm not dead yet, you know?**

 **WPS Writer's word count is not really accurate so that's another thing. I guess I have to add in another 500 words from now on, but at least I could still write something. That's a plus I guess. And I might have rusted a bit, but who cares, right?**

 **And also another thing. Check out this RWBY X BlazBlue picture I made on DeviantArt!**

 **warnerbroswilecoyote . deviantart**

 **. com**

 **/art /RWBY - X - BlazBlue - The - Meeting - 599088470**

 **I ain't got much to say, so I'll be seeing you guys again later in Phase 27!**

 **Peace out!**


	27. Phase 27

**Welcome to Phase 27 of Still Alive!**

 **I thank you all so much for the support! I am so happy right now! As a fellow writer, I never thought I'd ever get this far, but you guys have proven me wrong. Seriously though, I can't thank you all enough.**

 **Anyway, enjoy Phase 27!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

This was bad. He had nowhere to run nor hide. He was cornered like a wild animal.

Kval could do nothing as Yang slowly made her way towards him, grinning menacingly. Not that he could see it anyway, thanks to the bandages covering his eyes. Kval didn't know if it was dumb luck that kept him from getting caught, or that Yang was simply toying with him.

Kval had to go with luck. The possibility of Yang toying with him was quite frightening to say the least.

After receiving the death threat from Yang, Kval somehow managed to avoid himself from getting grabbed by said blonde. Whether he was acting on instinct or was just naturally good at dodging and jumping around, he didn't know. Could be both for all he knew.

However, after a couple of minutes of dodging and jumping around, his luck finally decided to run out.

Which fully explained the reason why he was now cornered.

"W-We were just playing around! I swear!" Kval pressed his back against the corner of the room, his legs trembling in fear.

Everyone in the room, even Yang, couldn't help but stare at him with weird looks.

"Aren't you gonna take that off?" Yang sounded, confused.

Kval tilted his head. "H-Huh?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "She meant the bandages."

Weiss shook her head at the sight of the vessel's ridiculousness. Although, she couldn't deny the fact that she was impressed at how agile he was, despite his looks. She'd be sure to talk to him about it later.

"O-Oh, I totally forgot about that!" Kval exclaimed. He unwrapped the bandages, and was _this_ close from screaming in utter terror at the sight of Yang's face inches away from his own. Her crimson orbs, especially, were what really scared him. The way they were locked onto his eyes with murderous intent gave him the chills.

Panicking and knowing no other options, Kval immediately head-butted the blonde due to panic, much to everyone's shock and surprise.

"Ow!"

Both Kval and Yang covered their foreheads, wincing, only to focus their eyes onto one another soon after.

No words were exchanged between the two.

The two stayed that way, but it all soon changed when Kval suddenly started laughing.

Yang pouted at first, but after watching how happy he looked, she decided to laugh along with him. His laugh was contagious anyway.

And just like that, the tensed atmosphere in the room vanished.

"You dirty little snake." Yang punched at his arm in a playful manner, grinning as she did. Her crimson eyes changed back into their original lilac color as she set her hands onto her hips. "I feel nice today, so I'll let you off the hook this time. But next time..." Yang gave Kval a dark grin, and he quickly nodded once the message was received. "Good. I'm watching you."

"But we were just playing around!" Ruby exclaimed. "And have you ever heard of knocking?" She pointed a finger at the door which was lying on the floor, slightly damaged. "You're gonna get detention because of this."

Yang flinched, her eyes widening ever so slightly. Realisation finally dawned on her, it seemed. "Oh no..."

Frowning, Ruby went over to Kval and pulled him by the sleeve to the other side of the room. "Go and get yourself dressed, Kazuma. We need to get you back in shape after all that's happened." She gestured towards his clothes on the table, smiling.

Weiss had other ideas, however. She cleared her throat, gaining her partner's attention. "Miss Goodwitch specifically told us that he needed at least two days of rest. I think it's best that we do as she says for now."

Ruby immediately groaned at this. "I hate rules."

"Actually, Hazama is the one who's in charge of me," Kval pointed out with a small smile. "Once I'm done getting dressed, let's go find him. Knowing his carefree behavior, I think he'd probably let me walk around without having the need to think twice."

Without warning, Yang hooked her arm around Kval's. That's when she started to drag him out of the room. "Let's go then!" she cheered, despite the vessel's protests.

As Kval tried to regain his freedom from Yang, something clicked in his mind. "W-Wait a minute! I still need to get dressed!"

"Fine," Yang grumbled. She let go of Kval's arm, then pouted. "But be quick about it. I don't want Professor Goodwitch to see what I did with the door. Getting detention is the last thing I need for today."

Kval took note of the others rolling their eyes at Yang, and he couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Alright. I'll try to be quick, but no promises though."

"I wonder where Professor Hazama is right now..." Ruby thought aloud.

 **-IIXII-**

Hazama sneezed.

"Someone must be talking about me," said the cunning vessel. Rubbing his nose, he then took a look around, only to end up seeing nothing but students walking all around him. None seemed to be looking his way though, and he actually preferred it that way. He sighed. "I don't know why, but I feel out of place..."

The world he was in...was too peaceful, and it annoyed him a bit. From where he came from, the world was so scarred and broken that he even sometimes wondered how the planet itself still managed to stay intact after all the shit that it went through.

But that's just life being a total bitch, so it wasn't surprising.

When he realised that he had nothing to do, Hazama had decided to explore the place as much as he could. He wasn't lost or anything. Although, without Velvet, it was a bit hard to navigate through the large place on his own. That, he had to admit.

"Where is that girl when I need her the most?" Hazama covered his face with a hand and groaned, but made no effort to stop himself from walking.

If only Velvet was here. She would've at least kept him from getting bored by striking up a conversation or something. In a way, she can be quite entertaining whenever he wanted her to be, even without herself knowing it.

And not knowing why, it was also apparent that he found her to be...interesting.

Don't get him wrong or anything. Normally, he wouldn't give a rat's ass about some random loser. But Velvet...she was different. For some reason.

Even after telling her that he was untrustworthy, as well as the risk of him possibly backstabbing her in the future, she still wanted to trust him. It may sounded crazy, but she was pretty much dead serious about it too. Just why the hell did she trusted him so much?

Sometimes, it even made him wonder what goes through the girl's mind every time she was around him. He'd ask her about it if he could, definitely, but something told him that doing so might lead to a complete misunderstanding.

Nevermind then.

Hazama chuckled. "That weird girl..."

Weird or not, Velvet Scarlatina will always be considered as an interesting person in his eyes. No changing that, from the looks of it. Let's just see how far she was willing to go when it came down to trusting him...

Without warning, Hazama felt something bumping itself against his shoulder, successfully snapping him out of his thoughts.

"My apologies," a feminine voice apologised.

Hazama took a step back and cracked open an eye.

In that exact moment, yellow met amber.

Hazama found himself narrowing his eyes when the person responsible for bumping into him entered his line of sight. She looked a lot more older than the other students he'd seen. And were it not for the gray uniform she was wearing, he could've easily mistaken her for a staff member.

Just how old was she?

"No, it was my fault. It wasn't like I was paying attention to my surroundings, anyway." Hazama gave the woman a rather carefree smile. He took off his fedora and bowed in a polite manner. "Please do forgive me."

However, despite the kind look he had plastered across his face, inside his mind was a different story entirely. Thousands of thoughts ran through his mind, and each and every one of them were bad.

This woman. She was not what she seemed. Oh he could easily tell. Her manner of speech alone was more than enough to get him all suspicious. Hell, he was even starting to consider the idea of him keeping his eyes on her...just in case.

Hazama blinked.

Damn. What's up with him being all paranoid today?

But was he really?

Maybe.

Unbeknownst to Hazama, however, the woman was actually thinking the same thing.

"Oh my." She chuckled. "You're such a gentleman."

"I shall take that as a compliment." Hazama set his fedora back down on his head. "I am Professor Hazama. It is a pleasure to meet you. Mind telling me your name?"

Cinder gave him a curious look, but introduced herself anyway. "My name is Cinder Fall. It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Professor."

The woman, who was now known to Hazama as Cinder Fall, took a brief moment to examine him up and down. "I haven't seen your face around here before, my dear Professor. Tell me, are you new in this academy?"

"Indeed." Hazama nodded. "In fact, I just got here yesterday. Honestly, I wasn't actually expecting this place to be so huge. I still have a lot of things to learn, it seems."

"Interesting..." Cinder smiled suspiciously. "Well, I apologise for taking your time like this, but I really need to get going. I have to attend my classes, after all." Winking at him, Cinder then quickly brushed past his shoulder without even waiting for a reply. "I'll see you later then, Professor Hazama."

Knowing that Hazama couldn't see her face anymore, Cinder's eyes began to faintly glow. The kind expression across her face was now gone, as it was replaced with the look of utter seriousness.

"Hmm..."

Hazama remained in his original spot, not even bothering to turn himself around. Unbeknownst to the woman, the vessel's bright glowing eyes were wide open, revealing his snake-like slits for the entire world to see. Luckily, no one was there to witness the terrifying sight.

"Something's not right with that woman. She seems way too suspicious for my taste..."

Figuring that he can deal with the woman later, Hazama closed his eyes once more and brought up a finger to his chin. Just when he was about to start walking again though, a familiar voice called out his name.

"Hazama!"

He found himself smiling. "Call me Professor Hazama from now on, Miss Scarlatina. What you did was rather rude."

"Y-Yes Professor! My apologies!" Velvet pressed her fingers together due to embarrassment, staring down at the floor. "I-I won't do it again! I promise!" She then giggled, thought it was barely audible. "I'm just...used to it is all."

"I see." Hazama turned his head around, his eyes automatically moving to her face. "Anyway, do you mind showing me around? I have a sinking suspicion that I may be...lost."

Velvet smiled brightly. "I'd be happy to help."

 **-IIXII-**

"This...seems bad." Cinder brought a finger to her chin as her gaze went upwards. "Things have been getting a bit more...complicated, lately. If this keeps up, the entire plan will fall apart." She sighed. "I wonder what Adam is doing right now? The man has gone quiet all of a sudden."

"Cinder!" Emerald called out with a wide smile.

Mercury walked alongside the green-haired thief, grinning like always. "I'm done with my essay," announced the assassin. He took a bite out of an apple, then added, "By the way, Adam hasn't contacted us in a while. The same goes for Neo."

Emerald rolled her eyes. "Don't talk with your mouth full, you moron. You look like an idiot."

Cinder ignored Emerald, and focused her attention on what Mercury had just told her. She narrowed her eyes, causing the silver-haired assassin to feel nervous all of a sudden. "What do you mean he hasn't contacted us?" she inquired with a bit of anger in her voice.

"H-He's just probably been busy with a lot of things. Being the leader of the White Fang and all that..." Mercury stammered, and wasted no time in swallowing the piece of apple in his mouth, lest he might choke himself.

"So, you're saying that he hadn't given us any report whatsoever?" She tilted her head slightly.

Mercury nodded. "Y-Yeah, not even a single report."

"This...sounds troubling," Cinder murmured. She quickly turned and walked away, thus leaving Mercury and Emerald alone in the empty hallway. "It appears that I'll have to change the plans a bit."

Mercury stared at Cinder's back for a couple of seconds, before looking over at his partner with confusion written across his face. "Uh...what did I do?"

"You're an idiot, y'know that right?" Emerald said.

 **-IIXII-**

"My patience is running thin as it is."

Tager gazed down at the cat beastkin who was seated at her computer desk. "They've been gone for only a day, Kokonoe." He frowned, only to wince when a crumpled up paper was thrown at his face.

"Shut it, you big bucket of bolts." Kokonoe grumbled something under her breath. She rubbed her temples, then rose up from her chair when an idea formed itself inside her brilliant mind. "I got it!"

"W-What is it?" Tager asked, sweat rolling down his forehead. Knowing the mad scientist, she was probably planning something which involved a lot of explosive devices.

"I'm going to send two more people!"

But that wasn't the case at all, it seemed.

"You...what?"

As if on cue, the door to the lab was kicked open. Makoto and Noel came walking in with stacks of papers in their arms.

"Special delivery!" the squirrel beastkin greeted them with a cheerful grin, which prompted Noel to giggle slightly at how energetic her close friend was.

"L-Let's put these on that desk over there. My arms are starting to hurt." Noel walked over to said desk and set the papers down, much to her liking. "Finally...I can rest."

Makoto chuckled. "Come on Noel, it wasn't _that_ bad." She followed her friend's example by placing the stack of papers which she carried onto the desk. She was startled, however, when Kokonoe suddenly came in and grabbed her by the wrist. "Whoa hey!" Makoto quickly pulled her hand away and took a couple of steps back. "I didn't know you were interested in that sort of thing, Professor Kokonoe. I'm not interested."

"Just where in the hell did that come from?" Kokonoe glared daggers at Makoto, before realising that this was Makoto who she was talking to. What she said could've literally came from anywhere. "Y'know what? Forget it. Anyway, I have a job for you two. You mind hearing me out for a minute?"

Noel and Makoto looked to one another with confusion written across their faces, before shrugging.

"Sure," the two girls said in unison.

"Good." Kokonoe nodded curtly. She then adjusted her glasses and said, "I want to send you two to the same coordinates as Kagura and Tsubaki."

And with that, her explanation was done.

Iron Tager stared at them, feeling a bit awkward at how awfully quiet the lab was currently being. The information was so short and simple that both girls were forced to blink a couple of times in order to make sure if they'd even heard it right.

Kokonoe folded her arms and started tapping her foot, getting impatient as seconds flew by.

"Y-You...want to send us?" Noel asked.

"I hate repeating myself," Kokonoe muttered with a sharp glare.

"Why us? Did something urgent came up?" Makoto asked, curious, before her eyes widened when a terrible thought occurred to her. "Did something happen to them!?"

Before Noel could even begin to cry at the possibility, Kokonoe immediately shoved a lollipop into her mouth and yelled, "Nothing happened to them! They're both fine!" She then grumbled to herself, massaging her forehead as she did so. "I just need more people over there. Finding Jin Kisaragi would be a lot more easier that way. Besides, Kagura is taking his sweet ass time."

"But it's only been a day since then," Makoto and Noel said in unison, which earned themselves a small chuckle from Tager.

He stopped himself when a wrench was thrown to the side of his head.

"I'm just impatient! The waiting game isn't my thing, understand!?" Kokonoe groaned. "So do me a favor and do as I say."

"Something tells me that this is not going to end well..." Tager muttered. He went quiet, however, upon seeing the sight of Kokonoe reaching out for a nearby wrench on her desk. He gulped. "I'll just stay quiet now."

"You better," Kokonoe warned.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Well, that escalated quickly. Has anyone ever wondered what would happen if Kokonoe were to meet Kval?**

 **I apologise if I'm still a bit rusty with my writing, but I'll be sure to keep moving forward no matter what.**

 **By the way, RWBY Chibi is coming to Rooster Teeth. In my opinion, it was probably a good idea. What is more better than to heal your wounded heart with loads of cuteness after all the shit that we've went through?**


	28. Phase 28

**Welcome to Phase 28 of Still Alive! Yay! Hooray!**

 **Honestly, I was actually planning to update this last Saturday, but my Internet went down without warning. Frustrated, I had to beat the hell out of my pillow for that. Not really. Though, I'm really glad to know that you guys enjoyed the previous Phase. That being said, I hope you'll enjoy this one as well!**

 **Thanks for the continued support guys! I honestly can't thank you enough for your encouraging reviews and kindness!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

"Finally!" Kagura went down and made himself comfortable on the edge of the cliff, releasing a heavy sigh soon after that, no doubt exhausted beyond belief. "I was never really good at climbing...to be honest," he admitted. "L-Let's...take a short break, shall we?"

Tsubaki nodded at this, all the while breathing heavily with her hands on her knees. "I agree."

Kagura chuckled, albeit weakly. "Cool..."

Climbing was sure as hell exhausting. It took them roughly around an hour or so to reach the top of the cliff, and not to mention the problems which they'd ran into along the way. Fortunately for the two, all they needed to do now was rest. A lot.

Once she was done catching her breath, Tsubaki stretched herself a bit and released a groan. She then set the small rucksack which she had been carrying down onto the ground, before looking over at the Black Knight. "So, what's our next move?" Tsubaki inquired, and later decided to take off her hat, allowing her long crimson hair to flow down her back.

Kagura would be lying if he said that Tsubaki wasn't attractive when she wasn't wearing her hat, but he quickly threw those thoughts out of his head in order to focus on the situation at hand. "Beats me. We'll just have to figure it out on our own for now." Before Tsubaki could say anything in return, he immediately silenced her with his gaze. "He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

Tsubaki's cheeks reddened at that, and she simply opted to focus her eyes down onto her feet instead of answering, obviously embarrassed.

Upon noticing the blush on her face, Kagura couldn't help but laugh. "C'mon, I was just messing around!" And before he knew it, Tsubaki came in and smacked him upside the head, much to his surprise and shock. "Ow!"

"It's not funny!" Tsubaki huffed.

"M-My bad..." Kagura laughed nervously, only to stand up in alarm moments later when the sound of a loud explosion came from the distance.

"What was that!?" Tsubaki exclaimed. She looked to where the loud noise originated from, and later turned to Kagura for answers, but was honestly surprised to find him grinning for some odd reason. "Kagura?" she called out.

Kagura chuckled. He made himself comfortable at the edge of the cliff once more, and said, "There is no need to panic, Tsubaki. If anything, we should be thanking Professor Kokonoe for being impatient."

"What do you mean?" Tsubaki asked with a tilt of her head, puzzled.

Kagura closed his eyes, as the grin across his face widened itself. "The cavalry has arrived."

 **-IIXII-**

"D-Damn. Those were some powerful kicks you gave me," Neptune admitted while he was lying on the ground, exhausted. He took a moment to catch his breathing, and soon sat up in order to face his opponent, who was none other than Mercury Black.

"You were pretty good yourself. But you're probably gonna need some practice," Mercury commented with a small smirk.

Neptune nodded at that. "Thanks."

"The guy just kicked your ass without mercy..." Sun muttered from his seat, earning a glare from Neptune as he walked out of the ring with his weapon in hand.

Glynda gazed down at the time on her scroll, before announcing, "Well class, it seems to me that we have enough time for one more match. Any volunteers?"

Upon hearing this, Mercury quickly raised his hand. "I'll take that offer."

Glynda eyed Mercury for a brief moment, then nodded. "Very well. Would anyone like to be Mister Black's opponent?" She turned to her students, only to frown slightly when no one volunteered. Just when she was about to choose a random student, Glynda narrowed her eyes and looked around, just in time for her to see Jin walking past her.

"A bunch of cowards," the man muttered coldly, loud enough so that some of the students were able to hear him.

Glynda still couldn't find it in herself to trust the man after everything he had done the day before, but if Headmaster Ozpin saw no harm in having him near his students, then she had no other choice but to let it be. She knew Ozpin quite well and trusted him with his decisions, but what on Remnant was Professor Hazama thinking?

"Professor Kisaragi?" Glynda called out, cautiously at that.

"I'll try to go easy on him," Jin muttered in reply.

Glynda adjusted her glasses at that, eyes closing. "Make sure you do."

And with that, Jin entered the ring in order to meet his opponent.

"Nice to meet you, Professor." Mercury grinned. "I hope I'll be up to your standards," he said, but even if he _was_ up to Jin's standards by any chance, the guy would probably give zero shits on the matter.

"I want you to go all-out. That's an order," Jin ordered and folded his arms, eyes narrowing.

"Huh?" Mercury stared at him, puzzled.

Glynda cocked an eyebrow at this, but decided to stay silent in her spot instead of saying anything. Deep down inside, she was actually interested to see how this would play out.

Mercury Black was an excellent fighter, from what she could gather from his previous fight against Pyrrha Nikos, the one and only Invincible Girl. As for Jin, she had heard from Hazama that he was a dangerous individual, and that information alone was enough to get her guard up every time the man was around. So the thought of these two sparring against one another was unimaginable.

"But where is his weapon?" Glynda asked herself, slightly puzzled.

As if on cue, Jin held up a hand in the air and, after a brief flash of bright light, a long sheathed blade appeared. He then brought down his weapon and faced Mercury with a cold stare. The air around him grew cold, and he muttered, "Come at me."

"I'm looking forward to this." Mercury brought up his hands in order to crack his knuckles, and later landed his eyes on Professor Goodwitch. "We're ready."

Glynda tapped on her scroll a few times in order to set things up, before announcing, "You may start."

Not long after that, Mercury lunged himself forward.

 **-IIXII-**

"What do you think of Beacon so far, Professor?" Velvet inquired with a smile, turning to her companion.

Hazama took a few seconds in order to process his answer. But when he was ready, he simply replied with, "It's crazy. A bit loud at times, and don't even get me started on the students. Some of them are just..." The perfect image of Cinder Fall came to mind. "...weird. That is all I can say."

Velvet pouted at his answer and turned away. "I see..."

"Where are we headed next, Miss Scarlatina?" Hazama inquired while walking beside the brown-haired faunus.

In response to the artificial human's question, Velvet nudged his arm and lightly scolded, "You can just call me Velvet, Professor. It feels...weird, for you to call me by my last name. I told you this before, did I not?"

Hazama shrugged. "I'm currently on the job, so..." he trailed off upon seeing the sad expression across the girl's face. "H-Hey now, don't give me that look. The staff might think I'm too soft for the job if they'd hear me calling you by your first name."

That was it. Hazama was unable to resist the urge to wince at how terrible and half-assed his excuse was. Simply pathetic.

That really could have gone better.

"That...doesn't make any sense." Velvet lowered her gaze to the floor, ears drooping more and more until they covered up her face completely. "But I understand. I apologise for bringing this up, Professor Hazama." She turned her head away in utter shame and, without knowing, pierced a poison blade right through Hazama's heart.

The sight made him feel terrible, as ridiculous as that sounded.

The artificial human gazed at the faunus girl and later rubbed the back of his neck, before an idea came barging itself into his mind. "Hey uh...if it makes you feel any better, I can start calling you by your first name once all the classes are over. How does that sound?"

Velvet's eyes widened. "Y-You...want to hang out with me after classes?"

"Eh?" Hazama stared at Velvet, pretty much caught off-guard at the sudden question which came out of nowhere. "Where did that come from?"

Velvet blushed hard and pressed her fingers together. "W-Well, y-you said it yourself. You'd start calling me by my first name once I'm done with my classes. S-So I thought that, maybe...y-you wanted to hang out...with me."

"Uh..."

At this point, neither of the two knew what to say anymore.

Hazama gave Velvet a nervous stare, but because of that, he unintentionally made her feel the exact same as well, what with the blush which colored her cheeks and all that.

But after a moment of nothing but silence filling the cold air, the vessel finally spoke.

"Y'know, hanging around with you wouldn't hurt..."

"R-Really!?" Velvet whipped her head towards him, and was soon met with the sight of a smile which was displayed across the vessel's features.

Hazama tilted his head to one side. "Well, why not?"

Without thinking, Velvet leaped forward and pulled Hazama in a tight hug, which effectively caught him off-guard completely. "I'll be looking forward to it!" The timid girl turned her face up in order to grin at him, only for her to squeak upon realising that their faces were just a few inches away from one another.

"H-Huh?" Hazama gazed into her eyes, and was able to actually feel the heat which emitted from her reddened cheeks.

"I'm sorry!" Velvet exclaimed and took a few steps back, gazing down at her feet while her cheeks grew redder. "I uh..."

"Y-You...are full of surprises." Hazama brought up a trembling hand and stared at it, only to cover his entire face with said hand in order to conceal his current expression.

The two were indeed lucky that no one was around to witness such a thing. The thought of others seeing them in such a state was unimaginable.

If it was Glynda, then she was no problem at all for Hazama. But Ozpin? Well, that was a different story entirely. He wouldn't want to lose his job now, would he?

"Miss Scarlatina, you can return to your class now. I shall handle things on my own from here," the artificial human told the faunus without moving his hand away from his face, hiding his blush effectively.

Velvet slowly straightened herself, eyes downcast. "W-Well, I'll be taking my leave now." And with that, she turned herself around and walked away.

"Velvet," Hazama called out all of a sudden.

The fact that he had called out to her by her first name was surprising, but at the same time, Velvet can't help but be happy about it.

"W-What is it, Professor Hazama?" Velvet asked, turning her head around as she did so.

Hazama slowly uncovered his face, revealing a genuine smile. "I'll be waiting in the library."

 **-IIXII-**

He was starting to get really annoyed. The reason for that was because the people around him kept giving him stares and weird looks. Normally, yelling out a good death threat would scare them off easily, but doing so in public was a terrible idea.

"I regret walking in the streets. These people are fucking annoying," Terumi grumbled. "Seriously..."

If only he was able to kill some of them without causing a big commotion of sorts, then that would be helpful. On the bright side, people were moving out of his way faster than a dog chasing after a cat, all thanks to his intimidating appearance. So yeah, at least he didn't have to worry about kicking a random pedestrian out of his way.

Still, with nothing to do, Terumi can't help but release a small sigh when boredom came washing over him. "I'm gonna need to find something to entertain myself." Without a moment to waste, he eyed his surroundings while walking in hopes of finding something interesting. Anything would do. Hell, even an old arcade would do the trick, and that's saying something.

That being said, he was really curious to see what the owner's reaction would be if he'd wreck the entire place.

"Heh..."

The mere thought of it made him chuckle.

But sadly, after a long while of nonstop searching for something that would interest him, nothing caught his eyes.

"Ugh. Why the hell is this place so boring?" whined Terumi, loudly at that. The people all around looked to him weirdly, and upon noticing his fatal mistake, he cursed internally. "I...am seriously going to lose my shit if this keeps up," he growled.

On the verge of losing his shit, Terumi sent the people around him a menacing glare, and that alone was enough to make them move away in utter fear, unsurprisingly.

"Hehe..." He smirked. "The bastards didn't even know what hit 'em."

Terumi grinned a shit-eating grin at his accomplishment, but it was soon wiped off his face when something solid collided with his body.

So much for not looking where he was going.

"The hell?" With a low growl, Terumi focused his gaze onto the very thing which stood in his path, only for him to narrow his eyes at what he saw. "What the hell is this junk?"

The metal humanoid thing, which was clad in white armor, remained stationed in its spot, holding onto some sort of gun in its hands.

"Move aside you piece of crap," Terumi demanded, but was slightly miffed to see the thing ignoring him. Growing impatient for the lack of response, he pulled out his signature butterfly knife and entered a stance. "I ain't got time for this bullshit. Out of my fucking way!"

And with that, Terumi cleaved the android in half, which earned him countless of gasps from the bystanders and pedestrians all around. Not that he cared, anyway.

"Eh? Was that it? No shields or anything? Now that's just sad." Terumi crashed his foot down onto the android's head, and sneered, "Nirvana is much more reliable than this half-assed junk. If Relius were to see this, he'd be disappointed."

While the man was busy examining all that's left of the damaged android, he failed to notice three more of them in the distance, aiming their weapons right at him. And when he did, his only response was to pull out another knife from his sleeve, emitting a dangerous aura soon after that.

"Oh my, what a pleasant surprise..." Terumi grinned. "This'll be fun."

"Halt!" a young woman's voice sounded, effectively causing the androids to halt what they were doing and lower their weapons.

Terumi raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

Nodding at the machines, the white-haired woman then turned to Terumi, eyes slightly narrowing. "What do you think you're doing? Do you even know what you just did?"

"That piece of junk was simply in the way. I had to remove it somehow." He shrugged while still holding onto his knives. Terumi gazed down at the destroyed android for a brief moment, before kicking it away without warning, making the woman flinch intentionally. "Problem?"

Judging by the angered look the young woman was making with her face, it was clear that she was not pleased with his explanation, and not to mention what he just did mere seconds ago.

Terumi gave the woman a shit-eating grin. He then decided to push her buttons a bit.

"What's with the face, bitch?"

To say that everyone was shocked was truly an understatement. That being said, the expression on the woman's face was priceless, but sadly, for Terumi, it only lasted for a few seconds.

She gritted her teeth and pulled out her weapon, which appeared to be an upper-class dueling saber. She brought it up and pointed it right at her provoker. "Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"

"I'm sorry, but can you run that by me again? You're not loud enough," Terumi taunted while picking his ear, causing one of the woman's eyes to twitch slightly in anger.

The woman tightened her grip around her saber, and proceeded to give the man a dangerous look. "You don't know who I am, do you?" she said, before continuing, "You sir, are talking to Winter Schnee. So the least you could do is show some respect, you ignorant fool."

Upon hearing this, Terumi held his stomach and started laughing. "Hyahaha! This is too much! Your name actually suits you! Haha! What a joke!" He threw his head back and laughed louder, but not before pointing at Winter. "Fucking priceless! Your parents must be a couple of weirdos! Hehehe! They should've just called you White Bitch instead!"

That was the last straw.

She had only met this man in less than a minute, and he had already earned his way into her kill list. He was a lot more worse than Qrow, apparently. At least the guy was a bit tolerable at times, but this man was different entirely.

Her blood was boiling.

This man was practically begging to be killed in public. If that's what he truly wanted, then that's what he'll get. Her reputation can go screw itself for all she cared.

"Hahaha! I still can't freakin' believe it! And the next thing you're gonna tell me is that you have a little sister whose name is-"

Terumi immediately stopped himself upon seeing the sight of Winter propelling herself forward, screaming in rage.

"Oh shit!"

 **-IIXII-**

 **Congratulations Terumi! You just made another enemy!**

 **So anyway, Winter appeared, and was unfortunate enough to encounter Yuuki Terumi. The guy literally doesn't give a rat's ass if he ends up killing anyone in public, that's for sure. But being the hotheaded young woman she is, Winter will stop at nothing from giving Terumi a piece of her mind. But...will she survive? What will happen next!?**

 **Other than that, I am really dying to read more RWBY X BlazBlue stories from other writers! Guys, be a great reader and please suggest to all your friends to write their own RWBY X BlazBlue story. I just feel...lonely. I can't do this alone darn it! Help!**

 **And so, that is all for today. We shall meet one another again in the next Phase. Until then, stay cool!**


	29. Phase 29

**Welcome to Phase 29 of Still Alive!**

 **I think my Internet hates me...**

 **As always, thank you for the continued support! And moki-san, I'm really sorry for not mentioning you. What I meant in the last Phase was that we needed more writers. It's no fun when it's just the two of us. But anyway, good luck with your story. And always remember to keep yourself motivated!**

 **Also, I can't say I'm satisfied with this Phase. So it might not be at the best of qualities...or whatever they call it. That's all I have to say for now.**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

The battle was intense. To say that Glynda and the other students were surprised was an understatement.

The match had been going on for a while now, and the two fighters somehow _still_ managed to avoid themselves from receiving hits from one another.

Thanks to the intense battle displayed before them, some of the students, and even Glynda herself, began to wonder how things would turn out if Jin Kisaragi were to battle against Pyrrha Nikos in a sparring match. But that was a story for another time.

 **"Hishōgeki!"** Forming an ice blade in thin air, Jin brought his hand forward and sent it flying towards his opponent.

Mercury evaded the ice blade and wasted no time in lunging himself forward, before sending a barrage of kicks at Jin with his right leg.

 **"Sekkajin!"** Quickly unsheathing his blade, Jin countered all of Mercury's kicks with a flurry of slashes, but held back so that he wouldn't injure his opponent's leg by accident.

Ending his attack, the silver-haired assassin jumped to the side just in time to avoid an incoming slash from Jin. Forming an idea, he then attempted to kick Jin at his side, this time with his left leg. However, his opponent managed to block the attack with Yukianesa's sheath, much to his surprise. "Not bad," Mercury commented. He pulled his leg back, and immediately twirled around in an attempt to swipe Jin off his feet.

Seeing this, Jin reacted quickly by jumping into the air. He sent multiple ice blades down on his silver-haired opponent.

Before any of the projectiles could reach him in time, however, Mercury quickly rolled away to safety, thus leaving the spot where he once stood to be attacked mercilessly by countless of Jin's ice blades. Now in his new spot, Mercury went up to his feet with a cocky grin. He ran a hand through his silver hair, and found himself asking, "How did I do?" But the scowl on his opponent's face was not what he'd expected to see. "What?"

"I thought I told you to go all-out." Jin kept his trusted blade away and folded his arms, eyeing a surprised Mercury with his cold orbs. "Tch. How disappointing."

"But...what?" was all Mercury could say, bewildered. "That wasn't enough for you?"

"Would you believe me if I say I could've taken you out twice during our match?" Jin coldly said. "Honestly, you left too many openings that would've gotten you killed in a real battle. I even had to hold myself back from taking you out with one hit just so I could get this crap done and over with." He fixed his gaze on the spectators, noting their shocked expressions. "The large scorpion I fought in the forest was a lot more challenging than you," Jin added, adding more shock to the students.

"I...you...what?" Mercury stared at Jin with his mouth hung open, unable to believe his words. Before he could say anything else regarding their fight, Jin turned and left. "H-Hey! Wait a minute!" he called out.

"Weak imbecile..." Jin walked over to Professor Goodwitch, scowling. "Can I get out of here now?"

Glynda blinked once, then nodded. "Yes, you may."

"Hmp. At last." And with that, Jin made his way to the door and walked out without saying another word.

Mercury stared at the door where Jin had left just mere moments ago, before moving his gaze over to his partner who was among the spectators. The thief returned the stare, then shrugged.

"Just who the hell was that guy?"

 **-IIXII-**

"Are you sure you're feeling better?"

"I...guess?" Kval scratched his cheek as his eyes looked to anywhere but Hazama, smiling sheepishly. "I mean, I'm not in pain so..."

Hazama squinted his eyes at Kval, not quite believing him, before doing the same to Team RWBY. Things stayed that way, but after a short while of uncomfortable silence, he let out a tired sigh.

Well, the decision was his anyway.

"Alright, you can go."

"Yay!" Ruby cheered with a bright smile, earning a laugh from her big sister.

"Glad that's over. I can't wait to get back to our room. And sleep. Yeah, that sounds nice," Yang decided.

"I can't wait to finish my book," Blake said. After all the terrible things she went through, along with the others, all Blake wanted to do now was to finish her book in peace. And maybe lend a few of her new ones to Kval since he just got out of the infirmary today.

"Thank you, Hazama," Kval said in a grateful manner, which earned him a sharp glare from Hazama, much to his confusion. And before he could ask what was wrong, Hazama took a step forward and smacked him upside the head. "Ow!"

"It's _Professor_ Hazama, you little brat. Get it right," Hazama growled.

"My apologies..." Kval grumbled.

"That wasn't necessary." Weiss sent the older vessel an icy glare, only to find herself recoiling when Hazama decided to give her a glare of his own.

"Is that so?" Hazama narrowed his eyes, which prompted the heiress to look away in slight fear. "What are you going to do about it then?"

"N-Nevermind..." Weiss stuttered.

Hazama smirked. "That's a good girl."

Blake went to Weiss' side and crossed her arms, glaring at Hazama. "You mess with her again. I dare you," she warned.

"Oh yeah? Just what makes you think that I'm afraid of you?" Hazama, now smirking wider than before, challenged.

"I'm a cat faunus, remember?" Blake reminded, before a cruel grin crept across her face.

The smirk on Hazama's face fell in an instant.

"Shit."

 **-IIXII-**

"Took you guys long enough," Kagura said, only to grunt in pain when a punch was thrown at his gut. "Gah! Dammit!" He held his gut with tears in his eyes, and later sent the squirrel beastkin responsible a hard glare.

"Climbing up here was hard..." Noel complained with an adorable pout.

"Not our fault. And not to mention that Professor Kokonoe was pushing my buttons..." Makoto crossed her arms with her bushy tail swaying from side to side, making Noel blush at how cute it looked. "No, you can't touch my tail."

Noel flinched, and had no other choice but to pull her hand back to her side, pouting all the while.

"Well, at least we're together." Tsubaki gave Noel a soft pat on the shoulder, earning a smile from the smaller girl. "To be honest, I was actually starting to miss you girls before you came here."

Smiling warmly, Noel pulled her friend in a tight hug, giggling when Makoto decided to join in. "We missed you too, Tsubaki," said Noel.

Makoto nodded. "Yup! I was worried myself back in the lab. Although, I couldn't care less about that guy over there."

"Hey! I can hear you!"

Pulling herself away from the group hug, Makoto turned to Kagura and gave his arm a playful punch. She offered him a grin, and said, "Come on Kagura, you know I was just messing around with you. And besides, how am I supposed to thank you if you're acting like a baby?"

"You wanna thank me?" Kagura looked over at Makoto, seemingly puzzled. "For what?"

"For looking after Tsubaki, silly," Noel explained with a bright smile.

"Oh dear." Tsubaki couldn't help but giggle at how red Kagura's face became.

The Black Knight scratched his cheek due to embarrassment, his eyes wandering elsewhere. "I-It's no problem. Right now, it's my job to keep you girls safe anyway," he mumbled.

"Hahaha! Noel look! Look at how red his face is!" Makoto teased, which prompted Tsubaki and Noel to giggle at the sight. "Haha! He looks so adorable like this!"

"That's what you get for teasing me earlier," said Tsubaki, grinning cheekily at that.

"P-Please don't remind me..." Kagura grumbled.

Once she was done giggling, Noel turned to Tsubaki and asked, "So, where should we go now?"

"I don't really know, to be honest. I've been following him around ever since the two of us got here," Tsubaki answered with a small shrug, before turning to Kagura. "So, what's the plan?"

"The plan? Well, it's pretty simple really." Kagura drew his zweihander as a confident grin started to form onto his face, despite being embarrassed just mere moments ago. "We keep moving forward."

 **-IIXII-**

"Hehe! Is this all you can manage?"

"Shut up!"

Terumi grinned widely. He threw some of his knives at Winter, who reacted quickly by deflecting said knives with just a swing of her weapon. Pulling out a pair of extra knives, Terumi brought them up and motioned for his opponent to come get him, his grin widening ever so slightly.

Summoning a glyph, Winter launched herself forward and attempted to slice the psycho's head in half.

"Too slow!" Terumi commented. He blocked the saber with his knives, much to Winter's surprise. She hadn't really expected him to move so quickly, and because of that simple mistake, a price had to be paid. Taking the chance, Terumi moved forward and kneed Winter in the gut so hard that she ended up flying.

"Tch!" Quickly regaining her bearings while in midair, Winter wasted no time in summoning a glyph behind her. She locked her eyes onto her target, and immediately launched herself down.

Terumi, wide-eyed, quickly rolled to the side, managing to avoid himself from getting pierced through the torso. In return, he threw more of his knives at Winter. But as expected, she deflected them with her saber, much to his annoyance.

Winter narrowed her eyes. She prepared her saber, entered a stance, and zoomed forward.

"Oh, just wanna say that...despite your appearance, you're one hotheaded woman," Terumi commented, pushing her buttons. He leaned to the side just as Winter came in with her attack, barely losing an arm in the process. "And slow."

"I said shut up!" In rage, Winter swung her saber at the bastard's legs. Terumi predicted this, however. He jumped in the air and slammed his foot against the side of her head, sending her crashing into a nearby street lamp. Winter quickly clutched at her pained head with one hand, wincing every now and again. "This...maniac..." she hissed.

"What's wrong? Am I too much for you to handle? Well? Am I?" Terumi brought his head back and laughed. Not trying to brag or anything, but he could easily wipe the floor with her in an instant if he wanted to, but decided against it.

It would be a real shame to end things so soon.

Though if he were honest, the guy with the mask was much more challenging.

"And at first I thought you had a chance too! Hahaha! What a shame!" Terumi laughed.

"Keep laughing," Winter muttered.

"Eh?" Puzzled by her words, Terumi stared at Winter, taking note of her looking down at his feet with a satisfied smirk on her face. Narrowing his eyes, he decided to look down at his feet to see what was up, just in time to see a large glyph appearing underneath him.

His eyes widened.

And the next thing he knew, he was launched into the air, as many more glyphs started appearing all around him.

Smirking, Winter summoned a glyph underneath her feet, launched herself into the air, and later positioned herself on one of the glyphs surrounding Terumi.

 **"This'll hurt."**

When those words left her lips, Winter wasted no time in bombarding Terumi with endless attacks from all directions with the help of her glyphs. She literally had no intention of giving him time to prepare himself, from the looks of things.

 **"Who's laughing now?"**

"Dammit! Gah!" Terumi attempted to block one of Winter's attacks, and actually succeeded. However, the knife in his hand flew out of his grasp, surprising him. "Huh!?" It seemed that the amount of force behind every single attack she performed was beyond his expectations, so he was slightly screwed to say the least. Looking up, Terumi took note of another glyph above him, only for Winter to take her spot on said glyph later on. He was confused at first, but it only took him a second to realise what she was planning. "You little-"

And with that, the two fighters were sent crashing down in the middle of the street, creating a large-sized crater in the process. The people who were in the area had no other choice but to run away in complete panic, not wanting to involve themselves in the fight that was currently going on.

The three androids present aimed their weapons at the spot where the two had crashed, waiting for the smoke to clear out. Once the smoke was finally cleared, it revealed that Terumi had been able to block the final blow with the knife in his other hand, with Winter's saber digging the ground just beside his head. The knife in Terumi's hand was broken beyond repair from the force of the blow, which now left him utterly defenseless.

If not for his quick reflexes, Terumi could've suffered a major head injury, so he was quite thankful for that.

He would've pulled out another knife from his pocket, but the look Winter gave him somehow made him think otherwise. Fully knowing that both of them were in a tight situation, the two fighters decided to wait and see who would make the first move.

Winter sent Terumi a sharp glare, and he returned it with his own.

The two of them stayed that way for what felt like ages, only for Winter to pull out her second weapon from her saber with the intention of stabbing Terumi in the face. In response to her actions, Terumi brought up a hand and grabbed Winter's wrist, barely in time to keep the sword from stabbing his eye.

Gritting her teeth, Winter growled, "Tell me. Who's laughing now?"

"Fuck off," Terumi replied, struggling to keep the sword away from his face. Just then, something clicked in his mind, and he soon gave Winter a cruel grin. "Ouroboros!" he called out. A small black portal appeared beside Winter, and out came Ouroboros, knocking her off of him. "Hahaha! I guess I'm the one who's laughing now!"

Winter coughed. "Ugh...damn it..."

Terumi went up to his feet, dusted off his clothes, and then later proceeded to pull Ouroboros back into its portal. "Phew! You really had me there! Gotta give you some credit!" He pulled out a pair of knives with a cocky grin, and slowly made his way over to Winter. "You're something else, I'll tell you that. Hehehe!"

Once she was finally up on her feet, Winter raised her sword up high and yelled, "Fire!"

"Huh?" Terumi whirled himself around and, to his surprise, the androids stationed in the distance started firing their weapons at him. "Shit!" He attempted to move away, but one of the androids managed to get a clear shot on his shoulder, which prevented him from escaping. "Gah!"

It stung like hell, but even then it was nothing compared to Noel's Bolverk.

The androids kept firing at him nonstop, as they moved in closer.

Figuring that he had no other options, Terumi clenched his teeth and started taking a few steps back, shielding his face with his arms.

Upon noticing this, one of the androids stopped moving, took aim, and shot him in the knee.

"Ow! Dammit!"

Winter gazed at Terumi with a satisfied smirk. "What's the matter? Are these things too much for you to handle?" she taunted, and took great pleasure in watching the angered look on Terumi's face. After taking back her saber from the spot where they'd crashed moments ago, Winter turned to Terumi and made her way towards him. "I think it's time for me to end this."

"I...think...not...you bitch!" Terumi snarled, much to Winter's confusion. In rage, Terumi wrapped his entire body in dark green energy, which resembled a large serpent, and surged forward with murderous intent. **"Messenga!"** And just like that, he rushed through the androids and tore each of them to pieces.

Winter gasped, no doubt shocked. "What!? B-But how!?"

Terumi, with his back turned to her, moved his head in order to get a good look at Winter, revealing his pissed off expression. His eyes then wandered down to the destroyed androids near his feet, and he later found himself growling. He quickly moved his gaze over to Winter, and could easily tell that she was experiencing chills running down her spine.

He was done playing around.

"...I'm going to kill you."

Upon hearing those words, Winter, without a doubt, finally felt fear. Her legs started to tremble as the terrible feeling began to spread throughout her body.

"H-Haven't you had enough!?" She prepared herself, ignoring the fact that her hands were badly shaking. Winter created a large glyph behind her and, after bringing her saber down onto the ground, summoned two Beowolves. "Take him down!" she ordered.

Terumi observed the white creatures with mild interest, and later kept his knives away upon figuring that they weren't much of a threat. The two Beowolves snarled, and soon charged right at him with reckless abandon. "Enough is enough!" He simply killed the creatures by ripping apart their heads with Ouroboros, then glared darkly at Winter. "I'm sick and tired of this shit."

Winter was beyond shocked at this point. He literally tore the Beowolves apart in less than a minute, and no one had ever done such a thing before. Other than Qrow, that is. She frantically looked around in order to find help. But to her horror, not a single soul could be found. She could see a few people through the windows on some of the buildings, and judging by the looks on their faces, it seemed that they were too scared to help, or even _call_ for help.

Panicking, Winter turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She needed to-

Without warning, Winter felt something biting into her left leg and held her in place, which ended up with her falling down onto the hard ground with her weapons flying out of her grasp. "What!?" She looked to her leg, and her eyes soon widened in horror.

The very thing that kept her in place was none other than Ouroboros. Its chain led to a small portal beside Terumi, who appeared to be looking at her with the most terrifying grin she'd seen all her life.

"Not so tough now are you?" Terumi sneered, which was then followed by a crazed laugh.

"L-Let me go! Release me this instant!" Winter demanded, but was horrified when Ouroboros started to pull her towards her tormentor. "N-No! I said let me go!" Upon noticing how far her weapons were, Winter turned to Ouroboros and attempted to pry its jaws open with her hands, only to fail miserably in the end. "Dust dammit!"

"No one is gonna save you now! Hyahaha!" Terumi played around with a butterfly knife, just before deciding to throw said knife at the woman's hand, nailing it on the ground. A loud painful scream filled his ears, but he didn't care. He was too busy laughing his ass off. "Hahaha! Look at that! It's red! For a second there I thought they were gonna be white in color, but who cares!?"

"Ugh..." Winter clenched her teeth as she tried to pull the knife out with her free hand, only to scream in complete pain when Terumi stomped on it, grinning cruelly as he did. "Y-You fool! Stop it!"

Terumi's cruel grin grew even wider. He started putting pressure into her hand with his foot, earning another painful scream from the young woman. "I love that noise! Music to my ears!" Terumi held his stomach and laughed at Winter's current state. "Don't stop now! I wanna hear more! Hyahaha!"

"Y-You...sick freak!" Winter growled.

Terumi faced down and met her eyes with a crazed grin, tilting his head soon after. "Hehe! That's what they-"

"Now!"

"Huh?" In confusion, Terumi turned his head around, and was immediately met with a fist to the face. "Gah! What the-" He was then interrupted when a leg slammed into his gut, which ended up with him skidding across the ground.

Winter gasped. After quickly recovering from her shock of witnessing what had just transpired, she wasted no time in freeing herself by pulling the knife out of her hand. "Dammit!" Winter hissed loudly and dropped the knife, before focusing her eyes onto her savior.

Adam towered over her with his hand over his mask, with Neo standing right beside him. Speaking of Neo, who was currently facing Terumi, she grinned a wide grin and slowly pulled the shaft of her umbrella, revealing a long blade. Adam did the same with his own weapon, but instead of focusing his attention on Terumi, he pointed the tip of his red blade at Winter's throat.

"Begone, Schnee," Adam said in a cold voice. "I would kill you right now, but unfortunately..." He allowed his eyes to wander over to Terumi. "...my friend and I have a score to settle with that man over there." Adam brought his blade down onto the green chain which held Winter in place, destroying it.

Neo tightened her grip around her weapon when Terumi started moving back up. She punched Adam's arm to get his attention, not wanting to move her eyes away from the psycho who had nailed her on a wall.

"Hmp. Are you scared?" Adam questioned.

Neo quickly shook her head in response.

Adam stared at his current partner, and later kept his weapon away, his eyes locked onto Terumi. "Good."

"Hehe...I never thought I'd see you two again," Terumi said as Ouroboros spiraled around him in midair. He set his hands inside his pockets, and proceeded to give the two a shit-eating grin. "Know what? Fine. I'll take you both on. Just don't start crying when I start beating you two to the ground, or I'll get _really_ disappointed."

"We were planning to anyway," Adam replied, just moments before he lunged himself forward, along with Neo.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Well...that was a bit unexpected. To all those Winter fans out there...um...I apologise for Terumi hurting your waifu!**

 **So, will Adam and Neo be enough to stop Terumi? What will happen to Winter? And why the hell aren't those people helping them out!?**

 **Stay tuned to find out more in the next Phase!**

 **Anyway, like I said earlier, I didn't really like this Phase that much. But I hope you guys enjoyed it. Maybe Winter was a bit too hard for me to write...or maybe I'm just rusting as always. Also, I almost killed Winter. Is that a sign for something bad in the future? I think not!**

 **Who knows?**

 **Well, that is all from me today. See you next time!**

 **Until then, stay cool!**


	30. Phase 30

**Welcome to Phase 30 of Still Alive!**

 **Didn't expect another Phase coming did you?**

 **It's all thanks to the guys who reviewed. Because of them, I was motivated and...energetic and...yeah, you get what I mean.**

 **I ain't got much to say, so enjoy!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

"Get the hell away from me you damn cat! Gah!"

She may not admit it, but Blake was starting to _really_ enjoy scaring the hell out of her new professor. Heck, judging by the wide grin which was plastered across her face, it's quite clear that she's taken a liking to that expression he showed whenever he's frightened. Though, the faunus girl was unaware of the fact that her friends were a bit weirded out upon seeing the sight of her unusual behavior.

"S-Stay back!" Hazama pressed his back against the wall, watching with widened eyes as Blake made her way towards him, much to his horror. "H-Hey! I can get you expelled for this!"

"Blake, don't you think you're taking this a bit _too_ far?" Weiss pointed out. Despite enjoying the sight, Weiss knew that Hazama was right. He could easily give them detention if he actually wanted to, and that's the last thing _she_ wanted.

"Weiss has a point. Come on Blake, it's time to stop," Yang called out with a grin. She agreed with Weiss, truly she did, but even then she'd been busy laughing at Hazama the entire time. To say that she was proud of her partner was truly an understatement of the day. "Besides, if you keep doing this, he'll probably start sneezing again."

"Fine..." Blake rolled her eyes. "It's not everyday I get to have my fun."

"I'm not a damn plaything!" Hazama hissed.

"I feel sorry for you," Kval said with a shake of his head, earning a small giggle from Ruby.

Hazama quickly turned to Kval with a twitching eye, pissed off no doubt. "Don't give me that look!"

"Hazama."

With a growl, Hazama turned to the source of the new voice. "What!?" he shouted.

Professor Ozpin silently stared at him with an unreadable expression, carrying a mug filled with hot coffee in his right hand. His grip around his cane tightened ever so slightly, but was loosened shortly after. He then proceeded to raise a single eyebrow at Hazama, who appeared to be sweating all over, and inquired, "Is this a bad time?"

"N-Not at all," Hazama stammered a bit before laughing nervously. "I apologise for raising my voice there, Professor Ozpin. Didn't mean to."

"It's fine," was Ozpin's only reply. Then, all of a sudden, his expression turned serious. "Anyway, there's something I need you to do," he said, gaining Hazama's attention. "Something dangerous is happening right now in Vale, and I need you to find the cause of it. Truth be told, I already sent someone else, but it wouldn't hurt to send in an extra person in the field, now would it?"

Ruby knew who the other person Headmaster Ozpin was talking about, but decided to stay silent rather than sounding her thoughts. She wasn't going to spill the beans just yet.

"Is it the White Fang?" Blake inquired, which immediately earned her a pat on the shoulder from Yang. She ignored it.

"Blake..." Yang shook her head.

"No! If it's the White Fang, then I'm going with him!" Blake exclaimed.

"Nope," Hazama said with no hesitation whatsoever. "I can't afford to have a cat following me around while I work."

" _Excuse me?_ " Blake turned to Hazama with a glare, teeth clenched.

"Unfortunately, it's not the White Fang. It's something else," Ozpin explained in order to catch Blake's attention, in which he did. Then all of a sudden, he turned to a certain heiress. "And Miss Schnee, I heard that your sister was there."

Weiss gasped, wide-eyed. "M-My sister!?"

"Yes, Miss Schnee. According to my associate's earlier report, your sister sustained minor injuries." Ozpin took a small sip from his ever-present coffee mug, not quite enjoying the horrified look the heiress was making upon receiving the sudden news. "I doubt it was anything major. In fact, I'm sure her Aura could handle a few scratches, so there is no need to worry."

"T-Then I'm going!" Weiss demanded in an instant. "I need to see how she is!"

"What about my uncle? Why not send him along with Professor Hazama?" Ruby suggested, confused.

"He is...busy, at the moment. But I made sure to send him the message in case if he returns." Ozpin turned to Hazama. "Now, run along. And make sure you keep an eye on them."

Hazama lifted his eyebrows, confused. "Keep an eye on who?"

"Team RWBY," Ozpin responded right before sipping his coffee.

"What!?" Hazama, Kval, and Team RWBY shouted in unison.

Ozpin couldn't resist the urge to chuckle upon seeing the sight of their reactions. And with that, he turned around and walked off, thus leaving his precious students in the hands of Hazama.

Kval and Team RWBY looked to one another, blinked, and proceeded to move their eyes over to Hazama.

"So...you're gonna keep an eye on us?" Yang asked, her face revealing how unsure she was of Hazama watching over them. He could be plotting something for all she knew.

"Keep your mouth shut and don't fall behind," Hazama growled, no doubt annoyed that he was now in charge of watching over Team RWBY. To be honest, he was never really good when it came to handling kids, so things were probably going to get out of control at some point.

"What about me?" Kval asked. "Am I supposed to follow?"

Hazama stared at Kval through half-lidded eyes.

 **-IIXII-**

"Neo!" Adam called out upon seeing the sight of Neo crashing through a wall of a nearby store. Seconds later, however, the door of the very same store was kicked open from the inside, revealing an exhausted Neo with pieces of clothing hanging over her shoulders. "Catch your breath. I'll handle him," Adam ordered.

Neo watched as Adam turned to face Terumi. Using Blush, he took aim and soon started squeezing the trigger repeatedly, firing off multiple rounds. In response, Terumi brought up his knives and blocked the rounds with ease, which seemed to infuriate Adam, if only for a little bit.

Neo sighed. Figuring that she was still good to go, she decided to charge in instead of listening to Adam, but not before discarding the pieces of annoying clothing which were hanging comfortably over her shoulders. She had a score to settle, so sitting around was definitely out of the question.

Adam clicked his tongue in annoyance when Blush suddenly went dry, but before he could even make a move to reload, he was surprised to see his partner charging in with reckless abandon. "Neo!?" Just when he was about to rush in as well, he was stunned to see Neo jump, spin in the air, before giving Terumi a well-placed kick to the face, which ultimately sent him rolling a good distance away across the concrete ground. "Well...good shot," Adam commented, unsure of what else he should say.

Neo looked to Adam with a satisfied smirk, nodding.

"Ouroboros!"

Neo quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the chain. If it weren't for her quick reflexes, then surely she could've gotten herself killed. She took in a deep breath in order to calm her nerves, before deciding to give her partner a nod to tell him that she was ready.

Receiving the signal, Adam nodded in return. "Buy me some time."

Neo grinned. And with that, she wasted no time in rushing her way towards Terumi.

"You midget! I'll make sure to nail your head on the wall this time!" Terumi stomped his foot onto the ground, and as if on cue, countless of green serpents appeared all around him.

Neo narrowed her eyes at the sight as she ran, tightening her grip around her parasol while doing so.

After locking their sights onto their prey, the serpents lunged themselves in Neo's general direction with their jaws wide open. However, when one of them made contact with Neo, her entire frame immediately shattered like glass, which caught Terumi off-guard.

"What the hell!?" Instincts kicked in, and Terumi quickly lowered himself down, just in time for him to avoid from getting his head sliced off.

Neo clicked her tongue in annoyance and proceeded to do a backwards cartwheel in order to back away from her deadly opponent. She looked to Adam over her shoulder, and was somewhat annoyed to see him still charging up his attack. Figuring that she needed to buy more time, Neo turned to Terumi once more, and glared.

Terumi laughed. "That's my favorite face right there! You mute bitch! Hahaha!"

Neo gritted her teeth at that. Honestly, each and every one of his insults were _really_ starting to get under her skin, and that's coming from someone like her of all people.

"Haha! And your hair-" Terumi was fortunately interrupted when a certain someone decided to smash a large brick into the side of his face, and to say that it was a painless experience would be a total lie.

That being said, that certain someone was _really_ going to enjoy this.

 **"This!"** She gave Terumi an uppercut with her left, then a punch to the face with her right. **"Is!"** This time, a left hook to the side of his head. **"For!"** She kneed him in the face. **"Earlier!"** Bringing up her leg, she then sent her foot flying into Terumi's private area, which ended up with her knocking him a few feet away. **"Dust dammit!"**

Neo remained in her spot with her mouth hung open. She kept her gaze locked onto Winter, as the look of utter shock splattered across her face. Hell, even Adam couldn't help but stare at the young woman, but instead of commenting on what had just occurred, he simply lifted his eyebrows a bit, before directing his attention back to his Semblance.

A painful groan could be heard from Terumi, which managed to snap Neo out of her daze.

Winter panted with her hands balled up into fists, all the while glaring daggers at Terumi. The cold wind blew softly against her cheek, and soon after that, she allowed herself to relax before releasing a small sigh. "It's good to finally get that out of my system." She turned to Neo, smiling slightly. "You wouldn't mind if I join in, now would you?"

Once the question was received, Neo quickly shook her head from side to side as her answer, wide-eyed.

Winter's smile grew, and she nodded. "Thank you."

"Ugh...lucky shot..." Terumi groaned. He went to his feet, and the slight shaking of his legs told everyone that he was having a hard time trying to kill the pain which came from his private area. Wincing, he quickly held onto the side of his head, pained. "You bitch..."

Ignoring the asshole's comment, Winter pulled out her saber and entered a stance. She nodded to Neo. "Let's do this."

Neo looked to Winter, and nodded back.

Winter was clueless as to what their full plan was, but she knew that it somehow involved Adam. In that case, if Adam needed time for whatever they had in store to work, then she had no other choice but to lend them her assistance. Yuuki Terumi was a dangerous threat that needed to be quickly dealt with, so allowing him to escape wasn't an option.

Besides, Winter wasn't done with the bastard just yet, so the idea of her sitting around can go screw itself.

Charging in with Neo not too far behind her, Winter summoned a glyph underneath her feet and launched herself into the air, right before diving down towards Terumi with the help of another glyph.

"Bring it on!" Terumi pulled out a couple of knives from his sleeves and beckoned them over, snarling.

With Winter distracting Terumi for the moment, Neo decided to spare a brief glance towards her faunus partner. Said faunus took note of this, and curtly nodded. Despite hating the idea, Adam had to admit that teaming up with the Schnee would make their jobs much more easier. There was no other choice, apparently. For now, he just had to bear with it.

Neo grinned. She quickly went in and elbowed Terumi in the face in order to help Winter out with the fight, which earned her a grateful nod from the young woman.

 **-IIXII-**

Not too far from where the battle was taking place, a lone girl could be seen walking in the empty streets with a confused look across her facial features. The reason to why she was confused was because the place seemed a bit quiet, or maybe even a little bit _too_ quiet.

Quite literally, not even a single soul could be found.

"Where is everyone?" the girl asked to no one in particular.

She kept walking, and soon began to wonder if something bad might've happened when she wasn't around. However, she immediately froze when the sounds of metal clashing against metal and gunfire reached her ears.

"That's weird," she commented.

Curious as to what was causing all the noises, the girl decided to check things out. Only to gasp out loud upon seeing the sight of a certain Atlas officer.

"Is that Miss Winter?"

She wanted to call out Winter's name, but was too shocked to do so when a man with a yellow cloak came rushing in and gave the woman a swift kick to the gut. And to top it off, he seemed to be enjoying what he just did to Winter, despite how wrong it was.

Witnessing this, the girl balled up her hands into fists and glared at the horrible man. She wasn't pleased, to say the least.

Despite not knowing Winter that much, she still considered the young woman as a friend. That being said, no one was allowed to hurt _any_ of her friends, and anyone who had the balls to say otherwise would find themselves crashing through multiple buildings.

That horrible man just made a _very_ bad move, and if he thought that he could go and keep hurting Winter any further, or anyone else for that matter, then he will get to see another thing coming.

 **-IIXII-**

"Just...how much longer?" Winter looked over at Neo with a pained expression, only to narrow her eyes when a shrug was sent her way. "What do you mean you don't know?" she hissed. Rolling her eyes, Neo turned to Terumi and charged in once more, leaving Winter's question unanswered. "H-Hey wait!"

Adam never really told her how much time he needed in order to unleash his powerful attack, but Neo was more than willing to bet all of her snacks back in her safe house that he was done preparing.

If not, then she will absolutely _not_ hesitate to kick his ass.

Terumi eyed Neo as she charged her way in, and decided to send a couple of knives flying in her direction. But when the knives reached their intended target, like earlier, her entire frame shattered. "Again!?" He whirled around, just in time to see Neo performing an overhead kick to his face, which was then followed by a swift kick to his gut, sending him towards Adam. With a growl, Terumi pulled himself to a nearby deserted car with the help of Ouroboros. He then looked to Adam over his shoulder, and soon clicked his tongue upon seeing the stance he was in. "Tch. Now I see where you're going with this..." Terumi gathered dark energy around his right hand and, when he was satisfied, spun around in order to toss whatever he had at Adam. The ball of energy, which quickly shaped itself into a serpent, snapped its jaws wide open as it flew towards its target.

Too bad it was a mistake.

 **"I hope you're prepared for my attack, Terumi."** Adam drew Wilt from Blush when the serpent came in, absorbing it completely. Soon his hair, along with the symbol across his back, began to glow a bright red. **"None have survived."**

"The hell was that!?" Terumi exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Winter took the opportunity and summoned a glyph behind the psychopath. A small smirk graced her lips, and it widened somewhat when Terumi was sent flying to where the White Fang leader was stationed at. "He's all yours!" she called out.

"You bitch!" Terumi yelled out in rage.

 **"Farewell, Terumi."** And with that, Adam unleashed his powerful attack.

Red rose petals could be seen drifting through the air all around when the attack connected.

At last. The battle was over.

Adam smirked when the body of his target started to fade away. However, the crazed grin was the last thing he saw before the bastard's entire body disappeared completely, and his blood immediately went cold. Adam wanted to move, truly he did, but for some reason he couldn't. It's as if his entire body was paralyzed.

"Impossible!"

 **"You didn't think it would be that easy did you? Hyahaha!"**

Adam gritted his teeth, and soon began to struggle for freedom when Ouroboros faded into existence around him. He could easily tell that someone was standing right behind him, and it only took him a second to realise who it was. Without warning, Ouroboros coiled up around him, and he could do nothing as it lifted him off the ground.

Adam silently cursed when he accidentally let go of his weapons, now out of his reach.

Seeing this, Neo quickly attempted to rescue Adam by charging in with no actual plan in mind, only to back away when countless of green serpents blocked her path.

"This is bad..." Summoning a glyph, Winter launched herself towards Adam in an attempt to rescue him, but one of the serpents reacted quickly and slammed its head into her side, knocking her away. "Ugh!"

Right now, Adam felt defenseless. Weak even.

Was this really how it was going to end? Was he really going to die like this after all the things he went through? Was this seriously it?

A small, bitter smile settled itself onto his face when a certain someone entered his mind. Adam chuckled, despite the situation he was in.

If she saw him like this, he wondered what her reaction would be.

The thought alone scared him.

But none of it really mattered anymore.

"How pathetic..."

He just really wished he could see Blake's face one last time before his pathetic death.

Maybe, just maybe, she would find it in herself to forgive him in the afterlife.

 **"Ōja Zanrō-"**

"Let go of him!" a voice shouted from the distance, catching everyone's attention.

"Eh?" Terumi turned his head around, and quickly moved away with his eyes widened in shock when a sword came flying in from nowhere, which nearly cleaved his head into two. "Whoa!" The chain which held Adam in place loosened itself, but before he even had a chance to realise that, it was already too late.

"No!" Adam freed himself from the chain, grabbed Terumi by the hood, and proceeded to slam his fist into the back of his head. Not feeling satisfied quite yet, he swept the asshole off his feet and started stomping his gut repeatedly. "You think I'd lose to you!? Huh!?" he snarled.

Right now, Adam was pissed off beyond measure. He was frustrated. There was no way he was going to lose this fight. Not to him. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

"Gah! Get the-" Terumi was unable to finish his sentence when Adam decided to shut him up by giving his face a good stomping. That being said, Adam was so busy beating the crap out of Terumi that he'd forgotten all about his weapons.

Neo stared at Adam, wide-eyed. After witnessing the whole thing, she immediately reminded herself to always be on Adam's good side from now on, unless she wanted to end up like that asshole.

"Get the fuck off me!" Terumi quickly pulled out a knife from his sleeve and threw it at Adam's face.

Thankfully for Adam, his mask took the brunt of the attack, which prevented him from receiving any serious damage. He stumbled back a bit, however, and later threw his mask down onto the ground in anger after regaining his bearings. Picking up Blush from the ground, Adam turned to Terumi and fired a few rounds, who seemed to be avoiding each and every one of them by simply rolling around.

Neo watched the two and, figuring that standing around like an idiot was utterly pointless, decided to join in the fun as well.

Narrowing her eyes, Winter went up to her feet and focused her attention on the newcomer. Then, her eyes widened. "Penny!?" she exclaimed.

The newcomer, who appeared to be none other than Penny, grinned widely and nodded.

"I am combat ready!"

 **-IIXII-**

 **Yay! Penny's back! It's been quite a while since we last saw her, don't you guys agree?**

 **Anyway, I'll be taking my break now. Also, I would like to thank all of you readers for supporting my story. Really, it means a whole lot to me. You guys are seriously the best.**

 **By the way, who else is excited for RWBY Volume 4? I know I am!**

 **See you readers again later in Phase 31!**


	31. Phase 31

**Welcome to Phase 31 of Still Alive! And please don't murder me!**

 **First, I would like to apologize to you all for the late update. As I said in my other story, Still Alive: Kval's Birthday, I was busy with my studies. My mom kept pestering me about it, so what can I do? Besides, I was also busy with editing the whole thing. Second, I would like to really thank all you readers for all your amazing support. Thanks for being patient with me! I really mean it.**

 **RWBY Volume 4 will be released on October 22! Yay to that!**

 **Also, I received a message from Dread Grim Reaper yesterday. A message titled 'The Arc System Works RWBY Fighting Game'. Yes everybody, it might be happening. Might. From what I can tell in the message, RT and ASW had been writing love letters to each other behind our backs, if you know what I mean. Let's just hope it really does happen! Give a round of applause to Dread Grim Reaper and his friend, Ogiga99, for the awesome information!**

 **And if you guys wanna go and read more awesome RWBY X BlazBlue stories, then I suggest moki0316's BlazBlue: Remnants of the Azure. It's a pretty cool story with lots of twists and surprises, but it's currently undergoing heavy rewrite. Be sure to check it out when you have the chance! Keep up the good work dude!**

 **I also wanted to thank NexusRider161 for all the ideas he had given me. And thanks a lot for all the reviews! I really needed that. Yeah! I'm fired up!**

 **Be sure to also check out my other new stories!**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 **I do not own RWBY or BlazBlue.**

* * *

"How dull. I never should've expected much."

The man places his hand over his opera mask and sighs.

True to his words, he never should've expected much. He had actually hoped to find this new world interesting, but after arriving, it's clear that it wasn't. He was disappointed. Sorry to say, but even other worlds can fail to meet his expectations.

However, what truly surprised him was that no one, not even a single soul, could be seen.

The man raises an eyebrow at the abnormal situation. Either this part of the city had been abandoned because of government reasons, or the people were simply hiding. He simply didn't know the answer.

What the man _did_ know, was that he was currently being watched by someone. He had felt it for a long while now.

Whoever this person was, they made a pretty good job at hiding their own presence.

The man decided to ignore the feeling, and carried on walking in the empty streets of the city. All was quiet at that point.

A bit too quiet for his taste.

"Where are you, Terumi?"

Just then, not too long after those words left his lips, a bright green energy beam could be seen soaring through the skies in the distance.

The man looks at the beam with mild interest, and before he knew it, the wind rushes through his blond hair as three aircraft flew high over his head. His magenta colored cape began flapping itself because of the wind, but he paid it no mind as he stares at the aircraft above him.

Looks like they were heading towards the area where the beam was coming from. Not much of a surprise there.

The man redirected his gaze back on the bright green beam in the distance, as it disappeared in a matter of seconds. Something was definitely going on over there, and it was probably the main reason why the city looked abandoned.

Maybe the people were testing some sort of weapon, perhaps? Judging by the aircraft he saw earlier, it was either that, or something else.

"Well, that is certainly something I don't see everyday," he told himself with an unreadable expression. As the man began to walk towards the area, being as curious as he was, he said, "Seeing that there's no other reason to be around here, it seems that I have no other choice but to investigate."

"Not so fast."

Hearing the unfamiliar voice, the man halted himself. Judging by how feminine the voice sounded, it was clear that the person was a female.

The man remained calm however, commenting, "So…it was you."

"I see that you've noticed."

The woman made herself known by slowly walking out of a nearby alley.

If a normal person were to see her intimidating appearance, they would surely had fled in an instant.

Unfortunately, the man wasn't anywhere near normal. He simply stood his ground and kept his gaze on the newcomer, face devoid of emotion.

The woman wore a shallow cut black dress which was accompanied by a pair of black thigh-length boots, a red girdle-belt, along with a pair of matching gauntlets. Other than that, the man also took notice of the necklaces around her neck.

However, what truly caught his attention was the fearsome full-face mask that she wore. To complete her intimidating appearance, she carried some sort of large weapon at her side. A long sword with a large sheath, to put it simply.

"State your name, intruder," the woman demanded with a rather cold voice.

"Intruder?" the man repeated the word with one of his eyebrows raised, looking all puzzled rather than intimidated.

"What else?" the woman shot back. "I saw you coming out of that black sphere earlier, and judging from your mysterious appearance, I'd say you're scheming something. Am I wrong?"

He chuckles, "You are merely accusing me of something I didn't do, young one. You misunderstand me."

"Young one?" Underneath that thick mask she wore, the woman could be seen scowling. "Was that supposed to be an insult?"

"If you think of it that way, then it is," he replied with a small smirk.

"You haven't answered my question yet, intruder," she told him as she places her hand on her blade's hilt, annoyed slightly. "My patience is running thin. I think it would be best for you to answer. Now."

"And if I don't?" he challenged.

"Then I won't hesitate to cut you down."

The man went silent for a few seconds, then comments, "Such an interesting soul you have. A unique soul such as yours could be useful for my research…"

The woman was caught off-guard at his words, if only for half a second. "Excuse me?"

The man looks to her as if he just noticed her presence, smirking as he said, "My apologies. As for my name, you can just call me…Relius Clover."

"Relius…Clover?" the woman repeated.

The man, Relius Clover, nods, "Yes, that is my full name. Mind telling me yours?"

Acting on instinct, the woman tightens her grip around the hilt of her weapon. After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke.

"Raven. Raven Branwen."

Relius cups his chin at that, smirking slightly. "Such an interesting name. You'd be a great specimen, no doubt."

The woman, Raven Branwen, slowly went into a combat stance at his words. Even though she didn't show it, but this man actually triggered a bunch of warning bells inside her head, and that's saying something.

"You better start making sense, Clover," she warns him.

"Ignis."

Raven immediately unsheathes her red blade when a tall humanoid-like thing made its sudden appearance beside the man. The thing, which was named Ignis Clover, rushes forward without warning.

With quick reflexes, Raven blocked Ignis' claws with her blade. She held her ground with little effort, taking note of her attacker's blue eyes. She stared back, unblinking.

"Who the hell are you?"

Relius, instead of answering the woman's question, simply ignored her as he made his way towards the two.

"Ignis, keep her busy," he ordered, smirking all the while. "This shall be interesting."

* * *

He considered himself lucky to be able to avoid that beam earlier. If not, he would've been toast. Literally.

With a growl, Terumi avoided a pair of blades by rolling aside, but then deflects another one with his knife as it came from behind him. Recovering himself, he wasted no time in rolling back when Adam brought his weapon down, before jumping aside when Neo lunges towards him.

"You nimrods just don't know when to quit!" Terumi snarled as he deflects another blade, glaring at Penny. "You're first to go, brat."

Penny seemed puzzled for a second there, but then prepares herself when she saw Terumi running in her direction. Just when she was about to engage him in combat, Winter came in and slammed herself against his side.

"I'm still here, you imbecile," Winter scoffs, before landing her gaze on Penny with worry etched across her features. "Penny, are you okay?"

The cute girls shakes her head and grins widely, "I'm fine, and thank you for asking!"

"Schnee, get back in the damn fight!" Adam calls out as he slammed a fresh magazine into his rifle.

Looking over at Neo, who seemed slightly exhausted, Winter then proceeded to summon a glyph underneath the short girl. Neo was surprised at first, and before she knew it, she was briefly blinded by a flash of bright light. Moving her arms away from her face and slowly opening her eyes, Neo took notice of the bright light around her body.

"Hey!" Winter calls out, gaining the shorter girl's undivided attention. She smirks, "Give him hell."

Neo seemed puzzled for a bit, but then her eyes went wide when realization dawned on her, before a cruel grin crept across her face. She gave Winter a grateful nod, then charges in towards Terumi with newfound energy.

"Why can't you just accept the fact that you're weaker than me!?" Terumi roared in anger as he kept Adam on the defensive by slashing the faunus with his knives.

Adam, being as skillful as he was, managed to parry the attacks with Wilt. Even though he hated to admit it, but exhaustion was starting to take a toll on him. If this kept on going further, then he would be out for the count in no time. One slight mistake will be his downfall.

The bull faunus grits his teeth, but was confused when he heard the sound of light footsteps coming from behind. In instinct, Adam rolls out of the way, only for his eyes to meet with the sight of a glowing Neo slamming her entire small frame against Terumi.

"Gah! You fucking midget!" yelled Terumi as he crashed through a wall of a nearby store. Taking off his hood after recovering himself, he then ran towards Neo with reckless abandon. "I'll tear you a fucking new one!"

Neo simply smirks, as if mocking him.

Just when he was about to tear that annoying little smirk off of Neo's face, Terumi went wide-eyed when he saw the girl vanish into thin air. Not long after that, the short girl reappears at his side, grinning wickedly. Terumi, who was taken off-guard, couldn't react in time as Neo's foot made itself comfortable on the side of his face.

Adam watches Neo from the distance, panting as he picks up his damaged mask from the ground.

Seeing how Terumi was currently struggling with Neo's unpredictable attacks, he can't help but smirk. With the girl jumping around to avoid Terumi's attacks and sometimes teleporting to get into his blind spot, Adam would admit that with a little bit more training, she could be a dangerous foe. Not that she wasn't already, of course.

"Are you doing okay?"

Adam turns to the source of the voice, then scowls, "What do you want, Schnee?"

The young woman gave him a rather cold stare. "That poor attitude of yours will no doubt get you killed in the field one day," she commented.

"And why do you care?" he shot back.

Winter simply stares at him for a brief moment, then smiles as she turns to Penny, "Penny, go join our friend over there. My spell won't last much longer if she keeps jumping around like that."

At this, Penny gave her a large grin and saluted, "Yes ma'am!"

With Penny assisting Neo in the fight against Terumi, Winter redirected her gaze back on the bull faunus.

"Just to make myself clear, since I don't know when I'll get a chance to talk to you like this ever again in the future, I do not hold a grudge against the faunus people. Nor do I hate them."

Adam scoffs when he heard those words.

"Funny. Do you really want me to believe that? After what that monster did to our people? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Winter knew who Adam was referring to, and she wasn't going to deny it. In truth, the young woman herself long ago knew that her father was gone. She never really told anyone about it, not even Weiss knew. Besides, no one asked.

"Answer me this, Taurus. Do you seriously think I'll end up like my father?"

"It runs in the family," Adam simply answered her as a bright green beam flew past his head. "Once a Schnee, always a Schnee. There is no denying it."

Winter stared at him for a full three seconds, before letting out a short sigh, "If that is what you think, then I guess there is no changing it."

"Nothing ever will," Adam muttered as he lands his gaze on Neo, who was currently fighting against Terumi. Penny was also there, supporting the shorter girl by firing off green energy beams from her floating blades. He would've join the two right then and there, but his exhaustion prevented him from doing so.

"How the fuck did you get so fast!?" Terumi held up his left arm to block Neo's kick, but then hisses in pain when one of Penny's blades managed to get a clear shot on his unprotected back. "Dammit!"

Neo, not wasting the opportunity, quickly pulls her leg back and twirls around to deliver a swift kick to the side of Terumi's head from the opposite direction. The smirk on her features grew somewhat wider as she connected her previous attack with an overhead kick, right before performing a roundhouse kick on the man's gut.

With Terumi thrown her way, Penny wasted no time in gathering all her blades at her sides, before thrusting both her arms forward. At her command, all the blades were sent flying towards Terumi.

Terumi turns his head around and saw the sharp blades heading his way, and instead of panicking like how any other person would, he merely clicked his tongue in annoyance. Waiting for the right moment, he then immediately summons two green serpents right before performing a rising kick.

 **"Gōga Sōtenjin!"**

With all her blades deflected in one simple move, Penny was shocked, and a little impressed to be honest. The same goes for Neo as well, who then frowns when she saw the light around her body began fading away.

Despite how exhausted he was, Adam tightens his grip around the hilt of his weapon and was about to charge in, but was stopped when Winter places her hand on his shoulder.

The bull faunus scowls as he pulls himself away from the woman's hand. "Hands off, you filthy human!"

Ignoring the insult, Winter simply replied with "Charging in with reckless abandon would do you no good. You'll get killed before you know it."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" he growls.

"No need for that. Help is on the way as we speak." Without waiting for a reply, Winter turns her head around and stares at the three Bullheads in the distance, adding, "But I don't think you'll like it."

Adam saw the Bullheads, and judging by the look on his face, he clearly wasn't pleased to say the least. "You called them!? Those scum sucking bastards will kill me!" His eyes went wide when something clicked in his mind, before looking over at his current partner. "They'll kill Neo!"

"I didn't. The civilians in the area probably did the job for me, which I am grateful for." Suddenly, she turns to Adam, staring into his eyes, "And I'll make sure they won't harm you, or your partner."

"W-What?" Adam stared at her, slightly surprised at her words.

"You heard me," she simply replied.

"Why?" he asked, before looking over at the Bullheads in the distance. "What are you trying to achieve by doing this? What's your true motive?"

Hearing this, Winter took in a deep breath, then exhales as she closes her eyes. "I want to prove to you…that I am nothing like my father."

Adam whips his head towards her, dumbstruck. "Just that? You do realize that you're trying to prove this to an enemy, don't you? You're being childish."

"Just like I said, I am nothing like my father. Besides," she looks to him, and to his surprise, she gave him a genuine smile. "I wanted to thank you earlier for saving my life from that lunatic. If you still won't change your mind, then think of this as me saying thank you."

Adam stared at her in complete silence, but then closes his eyes as a small sigh escaped his lips. "You're mad."

"Well, that's new," Winter commented.

Just when Adam was about to give Winter more insults, a new unfamiliar voice interrupted him.

"Stand down, or we will take immediate action. I repeat, stand down, or we will take immediate action."

Neo parried Terumi's knife with her blade and jumps to the side, before fixing her gaze on the Bullheads. To say that she was shocked was an understatement. Penny however, looked entirely happy.

"Yay! More friends!" the girl says with glee.

Terumi didn't take things lightly, unfortunately.

"Who the fuck do you think you are to order me around!?" Looking over at the aircraft, he flips the bird at them, shocking the pilots, including everyone else, without knowing.

"We'll give you one last warning," one of the pilots began, before continuing, "Stand down, or-"

"I said fuck off!"

With this, Terumi engulfs his entire body in dark green energy, which prompted Neo and Penny to jump away from him with a bunch of warning bells going off inside their heads.

Without warning, a chill ran down Winter's spine. Something bad was happening. She could practically feel it, and it clearly wasn't fear. It was something else. Something much more. Much worse.

"You feel that?" Adam asked as he prepared himself.

Winter simply nods as she kept her gaze on Terumi, slowly reaching out for her saber.

 **"Hehehe...let me show you...my true power!"** Terumi began to laugh when the thick energy around his body started taking shape. " **Haha! Hahahahahaha! I've been wanting to try this out for so long!"**

"What the hell is that!?" Adam went wide-eyed at the sudden appearance of the dark green armor, along with the others. "How is this possible!?"

Meanwhile, the pilots inside all three Bullheads were currently preparing their weapons to engage their enemy. With the preparations set, all three Bullheads turns to Terumi, aiming their guns at him.

Terumi saw this however, and decided to play around with his new toys for a bit.

 **"Oh no you don't!"**

Terumi, now wielding the Dark Susano'o, lunges towards the Bullheads as he created himself a long blade that was completely made out of his dark energy. Within range, he simply took them out with just a swing of his blade, slicing all three of them in half right before they exploded, killing everyone inside as well as damaging anything nearby.

Terumi lands on the ground, turning to his opponents afterwards with his crazed grin hidden underneath his dark armor.

"What!?" Winter shouted, horrified at what had just transpired. "This is impossible!"

"You're welcome I guess. Even though I hate to admit it, but you've managed to changed my mind…if only for a bit."

"H-Huh?" Winter turns to Adam in utter confusion, who had his back turned to her as he slowly made his way towards Terumi.

"Neo!" the bull faunus calls out. Despite what had just happened a few seconds ago, he was surprisingly calm. No signs of fear could be seen in his eyes. If anything, he seemed much more determined than ever.

Neo, who was slightly shaken up at what she just saw, flinched in surprise when Adam called out her name. Turning to the faunus, she was then yet again surprised to see a smile on his usually cold face.

"Are you scared? You're welcome to cower away if you want."

Neo narrowed her eyes, then sticks out her tongue at him. Sheathing her blade, she ran up to his side and jabs a finger into his chest, before pointing at herself with her thumb, glaring at him.

Adam can't help but chuckle at this. "Beat him up together, you say? Well, I can't say no to that."

Neo nods with her arms crossed.

"Glad to know that you're still with me." The bull faunus looks over at Terumi in the distance, commenting, "I've always wanted to take on a stronger opponent who's at full power. Today might just be my lucky day."

Neo gave him a questioning look.

He clicks his tongue in annoyance, "I made a mistake the first time I fought him. Go mind your own business."

"I'll help as well!" Penny exclaimed from her spot, gaining their attention.

Adam raises an eyebrow at the weird girl, then decided to ask, "I can't guarantee your survival. You still wish to join us?"

Penny grins widely as she gathered all her blades at her sides, before they took their positions behind her back. "You bet I will! I am combat ready!"

"Taurus!"

"Hmm?" Adam looks over at Winter, placing his Grimm mask in his pocket as he asked, "What do you want, Schnee?"

"W-What…what changed your mind?" she asked, still confused. "If anything, I failed to prove myself!"

"I saw the look in your eyes when the Bullheads got destroyed. It was more than enough," was his answer as he turned his back to her yet again. Adam began to walk in Terumi's direction, and was closely followed by Neo and Penny.

Winter went silent at that exact moment, speechless.

"Schnee, what in Remnant are you waiting for? Are you cowering away from the fight?" He chuckles, "And here I thought you were better than this."

Winter was then snapped out of her thoughts at Adam's words, staring at his back. Not too long after that, the young woman closes her eyes, smirking as she slowly took out her saber.

"Was that supposed to be an insult?"

 **"I gotta say, you guys sure have the guts and bravery to face me after you saw what I did to those worthless craps,"** Terumi sneered as he dragged his long blade along the ground, walking towards them. An unlucky deserted car got in his way, and he simply cleaved the vehicle in half with his blade right before continuing his walk. **"Just to make things clear, you guys are a real pain in the ass. But that doesn't make this fight any less interesting."**

* * *

How Team RWBY managed to convince him into bringing along Team JNPR was beyond him. They just did.

It was cramped as it is inside the Bullhead, but complaining about it now was utterly pointless. He'll just have to bear with it for now. However, he clearly didn't want to stand anywhere near Jaune. The kid looked as if he was about to throw up at any moment.

Hazama just hoped that he wouldn't get into trouble for doing this.

That annoying little runt from Team JNPR was currently running her mouth wild, rambling on and on about her crazy dream which somehow involved him stealing all the pancakes he could find in Vale. It was ridiculous, and yet, at the same time interesting.

"I kept on chasing after him, but he was too fast! And I didn't wanna give up just yet! I mean, he had all those freshly made pancakes in that big bag of his, so why not right?" Nora clears her throat, before continuing, "Anyway, seeing that he was planning on jumping inside a nearby Bullhead to escape, I…called my Sloth Assassins!"

Hazama raises an eyebrow at this, not entirely amused. "What?"

Nora simply ignored the professor and went on about her crazy dream to her friends, annoying the man slightly.

"Brat," he muttered.

Ruby and Kval were being unusually quiet, blushing even. Well, Ruby was the one blushing, and Kval was simply nervous because of the ride. Luckily for them though, Yang was too focused on Nora to even notice.

Blake however, did.

"You okay?" the faunus girl asked Ruby, raising an eyebrow when she saw the girl flinched. "Ruby, is something wrong?"

"Not too loud!" Ruby whispered to Blake as she held up a finger to her lips. "Yang might hear you."

Blake seemed puzzled by this, and so she decided to ask, "Did you do something to her shampoo again? If so, then I won't cover for you this time." She then gave Ruby a rather cold stare, folding her arms as she did. "Yang won't be happy when she hears-"

In a desperate attempt to silence her teammate, Ruby quickly covers Blake's mouth with her hand, surprising her. "I-It's not that! It's about Kazuma!"

Blake simply stares at the girl through hooded eyes in silence. Not that she could say anything to begin with.

"O-Oh! I'm sorry!" Ruby squeaked out as she pulled her hand away from her teammate's mouth, looking all meek and awkward.

Blake sighs, "It's fine. Now, what is it that's troubling you?"

"Well, I…it's um…you see, me and Kazuma…uh…i-it's a bit hard to explain but-" Ruby immediately stops herself when she saw the blank stare Blake was giving her. "I'm…rambling again, aren't I?"

"Was it really that obvious?" Blake asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Sorry," the younger girl squeaked out.

"Ruby," Blake began, giving her leader a soft look, "you can tell me anything. Whatever it is, I promise I won't tell Yang."

"You promise?"

Blake rolls her eyes, smiling as she did. "Yes, I promise."

"Okay, well…" Ruby trails off as she closes her eyes with her cheeks heating up, before opening them again as she continued, "…I-I'm Kazuma's girlfriend."

At that exact moment, Blake's brain crashed.

"Uh…Blake?" Ruby started waving her hand in front of Blake's face, and began worrying when the older girl kept staring into empty space. "B-Blake? You okay there? Hello?"

After taking a few seconds to reboot her brain from the shocking news, the cat faunus blinks a couple of times, before locking her gaze on Ruby.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"Me and Kazuma…w-we're kinda dating now," Ruby explains somewhat shyly as she twiddled her thumbs, eyes on the floor.

Blake simply stared at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. Luckily for her though, unlike earlier, her brain was prepared for it.

"W-When did this happen?" she inquired.

"W-Would you believe me if I said it happened last night?" Ruby stuttered with a small blush, but was then puzzled when she saw the wide smirk on Blake's face. "W-Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"I knew it," was what Blake said.

"I know I know!" She sighs, "You were right about me liking him, but can you please do me a favor? Pretty please?"

"Let me guess," Blake began with one of her eyebrows raised, "you want to keep this a secret from Yang."

Ruby nods shyly, "I-I just…I don't know how to break the news to Yang. Knowing her, she'll probably go all berserk on Kazuma and end up hurting him or something. Or worse…"

"I think it'll be the other way around," Blake said with her expression stoic, but before Ruby could say anything, she continued, "Ruby, don't worry about Yang. I'm sure she'll be cool with the idea of you dating Kazuma. He's a nice guy, after all. Besides, if she so much as glare in Kazuma's direction, then I'll just have to give her a good tongue-lashing. Trust me, even Weiss doesn't like me when I do that."

"Yeah. Wait a minute, speaking of which," Ruby looks over at the heiress, who was currently talking to Pyrrha, "should I tell Weiss about this? I mean, she _is_ my partner."

"If you think it's okay, then go for it," Blake encouraged as she stared at Kval, who was standing next to Hazama with a small book in his hand. Looks like he wasn't joking when he said he loved reading, but she could totally relate to that. "I'm sure it'll be fine, and there's no need to rush things."

Before Ruby could even open her mouth to thank Blake for being such a great friend and teammate, the sound of an explosion going off in the distance interrupted her. With this, everyone went on high alert as they prepared their weapons for the unexpected.

Everyone except Jaune, as he was busy fighting back his common illness.

"Alright you kids, buckle up! Ozpin didn't say much, so expect things to go down to shit the moment we drop down," Hazama announced as he shoved his hands in his pockets, gripping his knives without the others knowing. "Just to make things clear, I won't save any of your dumb asses when shit starts hitting the fan. I prefer handling things alone."

"But…isn't it like, your job to watch over us?" Pyrrha said with a hint of confusion dripping from her voice.

Hazama raised a finger and looks to Pyrrha, but then sighs when his mind came up blank for an excuse. "Fine. You got yourself a point there. I'll try my best, but try to not get yourselves into trouble. I don't want to be responsible for any of your deaths, but unfortunately…" he trails off, grumbling to himself afterwards. "Yeah, you get what I mean."

"Roger that!" Nora exclaimed with a cheerful grin, despite what Hazama just told them. Sometimes, Hazama can't help but wonder if she even had a thing called a brain in her head.

"I just wanna get this over with…" Jaune said as he tried holding in his breakfast, with Ren placing a hand on his shoulder for support. However, when the ride was too much for the poor boy, everyone immediately moved out of the way when Jaune began making choking noises.

"Vomit boy is gonna blow!" Yang exclaimed as she grabbed Hazama from behind and held the man in front of her, much to his surprise.

"H-Hey! What the hell are you doing!? Let me go!"

"Fire in the hole!" Nora shouted as she covered her ears in the corner, closing her eyes when the bombs started dropping.

"You pieces of shit will pay for this!"

* * *

Relius could be seen walking down the street with Ignis by his side, heading towards his current objective. However, the man immediately looks up when a same looking aircraft from the ones he saw before flew over his head.

"Hmm?"

Weird. He wondered what happened to the other three. Was there some sort of riot going on over there or something?

Or maybe it had something to do with the explosion he saw from earlier. It could be, but it was just a mere possibility.

"I have a feeling this might be Terumi's doing," Relius said with his expression stoic, as he began picking up his pace. "I have to hurry."

If it indeed was Terumi, then he needed to get there as soon and as fast as possible. This was probably one of the only chances he could get at meeting the bastard.

He'd make sure to make his death as painful as possible.

"Just you wait, Terumi."

Ignis simply stared at her husband from the corner of her eyes, before looking down at her bloodied claws. She kept her gaze on the blood dripping from them, and decided to stay quiet about it. Not that she could talk anyway.

However, the blood on her claws didn't belong to her, nor did it belong to Relius.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap! Did you like it? Please review!**

 **So, you guys didn't expect that to happen, did you? And moki0316, I hope you're excited.**

 **And mother of dust, can you guys please point out if there's any mistakes? I've found a lot when I was editing the whole thing. I'd really appreciate it if you do. Hell, I'd mention your name if you do that! Anything!**

 **I'm done for this Phase, I guess. See you all again in Phase 32! Thanks for all the support!**


	32. Phase 32

**Welcome to Phase 32 of Still Alive!**

 **Glad to know that a lot of you enjoyed the previous Phase. Thanks for supporting my story, and also for being patient with me. Unfortunately, Kval and his friends won't be engaging Terumi in battle in this Phase. I'll save that for Phase 33. My apologies, but I had to focus on other things as well.**

 **By the way, Phase 33 might shock you.**

 **Before the guns start firing, no, I did not kill Raven. I just did that for the heck of it. But seriously, do not mess with Relius Clover. That bastard will fuck you up!**

 **It seemed I had mixed reviews about Adam's personality. But from what I've learned from moki0316 and HHH1, you can alter a character's personality along with the timeline itself. As long as it's in the realm of FanFiction. But don't worry, Adam won't be going all soft on people. The bastard has a strong hatred towards humans, after all.**

 **I wanna thank moki0316 for the long review. Seriously dude, you gave me a freaking stroke! But thanks anyway!**

 **Cheng han, they're coming. Slowly, but surely. And thank you.**

 **Also wanted to thank GameboyNinjaUltimate Icarus for pointing out the mistake I made. Do him a favor and check out his Grimmborn story!**

 **I do not own RWBY or BlazBlue.**

 **Now, enjoy!**

* * *

She coughed up blood, and had no other choice but to kneel down when the pain increased. The woman sheathed her long blade and leaned her back against the brick wall, panting as she took off her mask. She'll remember to clean it later.

"That man…was something else," Raven commented as she covered the gash in her left side with her hand. Her Aura could most probably handle it, but it'll take a bit of time. Nothing a tough woman like her can't handle.

"I still can't believe it."

Raven closes her eyes.

Relius Clover had bested her in their fight. The tall humanoid-like thing, the one named Ignis, was the main problem. The thing was like a walking tank with impenetrable armor. Not to mention how fast it was, despite its size.

If Ignis were to go against a Paladin-290, then she would have to bet on Ignis. Those claws would no doubt tear through the Paladin's thick armor like a hot knife through butter.

If not for the portal she summoned, she could've lost one of her limbs. Or worse.

What would Taiyang say if he saw her like this? Hell, the thought of Yang seeing her in her current condition sent shivers down her spine. She didn't dare imagine their reactions, let alone her brother, Qrow.

Relius Clover had proven himself to be a dangerous man indeed. From what she could tell from their fight, he didn't even seem as if he was trying at all. To put it simply, he was just testing her capabilities.

"I guess…I'm not as strong as I thought I was," she muttered, which was then followed by a soft sigh.

"I need to be stronger. But first…I need to stop the damn bleeding."

She let out a painful groan.

"Huh!? M-Miss!? Are you okay!?"

Raven snaps her eyes wide open and reaches for her weapon, but stops herself when she saw a young boy looking at her with worry etched across his features.

Despite how small he was, the boy's dressing consists of a higher class outfit with long white sleeves, ending in purple cuffs, and purple shorts. He also wore a pair of purple military style boots, which caught Raven's attention.

Was he a fighter? If so, then Raven would admit she was slightly impressed.

"Hmm?"

The boy, who has yet to reveal his name, took off his purple top hat and stuttered, "I-Is there anything I can do to help?"

Raven simply stared at him, her expression unreadable. She then scanned the boy from head to toe, making sure he wasn't armed with anything.

Just what on Remnant was an innocent looking boy doing here?

Surely this is all a joke.

"You can help me by finding a piece of cloth to stop the bleeding."

"O-Okay!"

Raven leaned her head back as she saw the boy taking off his purple cape, sighing as she decided to lower her guard. Looks like she's gonna need a bit of help. From an innocent kid no less.

"So, what's a kid like you doing out here? This part of the city is dangerous," she started, ignoring the pain her wound was causing.

The young boy knelt down beside her and winced at the sight of her wound, placing his hat on the ground as he said, "I actually came here with my father. We're looking for someone, and decided to split-up to make our task more easier."

"Split-up?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

To leave his son in the empty streets all by himself, the man must be one hell of a terrible father, but who was she to judge? She wasn't any better.

Raven immediately threw the thought out of her head, directing her attention back on the situation at hand.

"I see. And pray tell. Why is it that you decided to help a stranger such as myself?"

"No reason," he simply replied as he adjusted his jam jar glasses, prompting the woman to raise one of her eyebrows. "I can't leave a fine woman such as yourself in this terrible condition. I simply can't."

Did she heard that right?

Raven stared at the young boy in complete silence. Before she knew it, she reaches out towards him and places a hand on the top of his head, surprising him _and_ herself.

She was never really good with compliments, but screw it. Too late for that now.

"You're a good kid with clever words. I never caught your name."

The boy blushed slightly as he tried focusing on mending the woman's wound. He adjusted his glasses once more with his trembling hand, and answered, "M-My name is Carl."

"Carl huh? A nice name for a kind kid like you, I guess."

The boy clears his throat somewhat nervously, "Carl Clover."

At that moment, Raven's entire world began crumbling down on top of her.

Without wasting a single second, Raven pushes the boy away and unsheathes her blade. She quickly points her blade at Carl, glaring at him.

"Stay away from me."

"Ow…" Carl rubs his head in pain as he looks at her in utter confusion, "W-Why? I'm just trying to help."

"What's the name of your father?"

The boy looked puzzled, "What are you-"

"Answer my question. Now."

"His name is-" Carl cuts himself off as he looks to the side, eyes widen in horror. "Ada wait! Don't hurt her!"

Raven shifted her gaze to the side, and immediately parried the large fist thrown her way with her blade. She clicks her tongue as she locks her gaze on her attacker.

"Another one?"

Carl ran up to Ada's side and tried pulling her arm away from Raven's blade, failing miserably at that. "Ada, we're here to help, not kill her! And I thought I told you to stay!"

The tall humanoid-like thing, whose name was Ada Clover, and was also known as Nirvana, pulled her fist back and turned to Carl, as if talking to him.

"That still doesn't change anything! I could've just explained everything to her, instead of you attacking her like that." A couple of seconds flew by, before a sigh escaped the young boy's lips, "Fine, I forgive you."

Ada places a hand on Carl's head, earning a small smile from him.

"I know."

"Hey," Raven called out, staring at them with her guard up. She wasn't going to take any chances with this kid. "You still haven't answered my question."

Carl turns to Raven, but then his eyes went wide when he pieced all the pieces together.

"Wait, were you…attacked by my father?"

"His name," Raven demanded.

"Relius Clover."

Well, that sure as hell explained everything.

"So," she narrowed her eyes at him, "the man sent his son to kill me, is it?" She scoffs, "How foolish. The mind of that man is much more twisted than I imagined."

"N-No! I'm here to help!" Carl began shaking his head frantically, "I'm serious!"

"How do I know I could trust you?" Raven asked as she tightens her grip around her weapon, but made no effort to move away from her current spot.

"You see…I didn't expect my father to get himself into trouble so soon. I mean, we just got here," Carl explained with a frown, mumbling, "Hadn't he had enough already? I just wanna get this done so I can get Ada back to normal again…"

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing. Now, let me help you with that wound of yours. Also, my sister says she's sorry for attacking you earlier," he smiled.

"That doll is your sister?" she raised an eyebrow at Ada, looking all puzzled. "Are you being-"

"Don't call her a doll! Her name's Ada! Ada Clover!" Carl shouted with a bit of anger showing in his eyes, but then sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "Almost everyone's the same. Just…let me help you. Please? It's the least I could do after what my father did to you."

Raven stared at the young boy for a good five seconds, before sheathing her blade. She leaned her head back against the wall and gave a heavy sigh with her eyes closed, beckoning Carl over to her with her finger.

"Fine. But if you even try anything funny then I'll-"

"I won't. You're much stronger than both me and my sister combined, so I don't think I'll take that chance," he said with a huff, slightly annoyed to know she would think he'd do such a thing. "And you haven't really told me your name yet."

Raven looked at Carl as the boy knelt down beside her, trying to seal the wound with his short cape. She then shifted her gaze to the sky, before finally answering.

"Raven. Raven Branwen."

He chuckles, "You have such a unique name, Miss Branwen."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Raven warned as she kept her eyes on Ada, who seemed to be guarding them both in case if any unwanted visitors shows up.

And that's when it hit her.

"Wait, why were you walking around in this dirty alleyway?" She narrowed her eyes, "Have you been following me the whole time?"

"No, I wasn't," Carl shakes his head, "Just a while ago, I had been walking around in the empty streets without even knowing where I was." He let out a nervous laugh, "I was basically lost back there. But then," he scratches his head, "I met this kind woman. She told me to enter the alley that we are currently in."

Raven eyed the boy, staying silent as a sign for him to continue.

"I asked why, but instead of answering, she simply smiled…" The boy looks down, "…and left. Being the curious boy I was, I decided to listen to her and check things out. And that's when I found you."

"What was her name?" Raven asked after a few seconds of silence. She can't really say she wasn't interested. How did this mysterious woman even know she was here in the first place? Was the woman someone she knew?

"She didn't tell me, and I never asked her. But…"

Raven was slightly surprised to see Carl smiling. Even Ada took the time to turn her head around, looking at him.

"…she was a really kind woman."

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch was clearly _not_ enjoying her day. Very pissed off was not enough to describe what she was feeling. Students who saw the dark look on the woman's face wasted no time in moving out of the way, lest they regret it.

No one dared to face Glynda when she was like this. Hell, some rumours had stated that even General Ironwood had trouble dealing with her when she was in one of her moods. Ozpin was an entirely different story, however. The man seemed as if he was used to it.

"Just wait until I get my hands around your throat," she practically growled, which caused most of the students around her to move away in fear.

"Team JNPR was supposed to attend my class about an hour ago. What on Remnant was he thinking?"

Hazama was in for a nasty surprise when he gets back.

The one who had informed her of the sudden news was none other than the leader of Team SSSN. Despite how angry she was after knowing the reason why Team JNPR wasn't in her class, Sun Wukong didn't seem to be scared at all. He simply waved at her and left, smiling as he did. She was somewhat impressed, to be honest.

But back to the main topic at hand, Glynda was going to have a serious talk with the man the next time she saw him. Hazama can beg all he wants, but she'll have none of that.

"Hey Miss Goodwitch!"

The strict professor halted herself and turned around with an eyebrow raised, and was then confused when she saw the very same faunus who had came up to her with the sudden news running in her direction.

"Mister Wukong, no running in the hallway," she said with a stern glare, earning a sheepish grin from the monkey faunus as he now stood in front of her.

"M-My bad." Sun lowered his head as an apology, before looking up to her and said, "Anyway, I need your help. It's an urgent matter! Follow me!"

Before Glynda could even have a chance to question what this was about, Sun ran off down the hallway, despite the warning she had just given him. The woman gave a short sigh, and decided to run after him.

"This better be worth it."

After a few minutes of running after the fast hunter-in-training, Glynda found herself in the courtyard, much to her confusion. She landed her gaze on Sun who wasn't too far from her, looking exhausted after all the running.

Glynda made her way towards him, saying, "That's what you get for running around like that, Mister Wukong. Now, what was this urgent matter you were telling me about?"

"R-Right…over there," Sun managed to say as he points at the statue, sucking in all the air he could get after all that running.

Glynda looks over at where the faunus was pointing, furrowing her brows at what she saw.

Four people she didn't recognize could be seen near the statue, each in different outfits. Some of the students were also there talking to them, curious as to why they were there. One of them, the one with the black cape, had a large grin plastered across his face as he was surrounded by a group of female students, much to the annoyance of the girl with the bushy squirrel tail.

"Who are they?" Glynda asked Sun as she kept her gaze on the four unknown people.

"I don't know. They sorta asked me to find the person in charge. I was planning to find Professor Ozpin, but then I saw you in the hallway and…well, I decided to go after you instead," Sun explains. "I didn't wanna keep them waiting."

"How did they get here?" she inquired.

"I kinda found them wandering around in campus a few minutes ago. I don't know how they got here, but I decided to help them out anyway," he shrugs.

"So, you told them to wait here while you searched for Professor Ozpin, but called for my help instead when you saw me first?" She shifted her gaze on him, and saw him nod. "I see."

"Am I in trouble?"

"No," Glynda assured the boy, and heard him gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you for informing me of this urgent matter, Mister Wukong. I'll handle things from here."

Sun grinned, giving her a thumbs up as he said, "Not a problem, Miss Goodwitch. I'll see you later then!"

And with that, he left.

Glynda simply watches Sun as he walks away in the distance, before setting her eyes on the group of unknown people.

With their outfits and all that, they didn't seem like her students. New exchanged students, perhaps?

If that was the case, then she would need to have a word with them without any other students mingling around. She's probably going to need to sign some paperwork after this is done, much to her displeasure.

Glynda shook her head with her eyes closed, muttering, "I really need to stop refusing Ozpin's offer. I need a vacation before I start killing myself with all the stress. Better get this done and over with."

* * *

"W-Will you go on a date with me this Saturday?"

"Hey! I asked him first!"

"I was the one who approached him first! You all should back off! He's mine!"

"Girls, calm down. It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon," Kagura said with a wide grin. He looked beyond happy, but a certain squirrel beastkin finds his current expression extremely annoying.

"I got half a mind to crush your acorns right now," Makoto muttered as she cracked her knuckles, grinning at Kagura with a murderous look in her eyes.

"You jealous?" he challenged.

"Kagura, we're not here to play around. We need to find Jin," Tsubaki reminded with her arms folded, feeling somewhat annoyed.

"Y-Yeah. Sun will be here any minute, along with the person in charge. We don't want to give him or her a bad impression," Noel said with a huff. "And it's rude too."

"Come on, just let me enjoy myself once in a while!" Kagura told them as he winked at the female students, which caused them to blush. "Besides, the girls love me!"

"There's no stopping this guy anymore," Makoto gave a heavy sigh, scratching her head as she did so. "Why do I even bother?"

"Excuse me."

Kagura and the others looked over at the source of the voice, and saw a woman wearing glasses with a black and purple cape attached to her back standing not too far from them. The woman simply stared at each of them, being all calm and professional.

"And who might you be?" Kagura asked the woman with a smirk, not noticing how shocked the girls around him were currently being.

"I'm Glynda Goodwitch."

"Such a cute name for someone as gorgeous as you." Kagura wiggled his eyebrows, causing the girls to take a few steps away from him in total fear for what was to come.

Noel, Makoto, and Tsubaki saw this, and decided it would be best to follow their example. And so they did, without Kagura knowing that is.

"Do you even know who you're talking to?" Glynda asked the man with her expression stoic.

"I don't believe I do," he smirks. "Do tell. And maybe after all of this is done, we can go get lunch? Just the two of us."

"I see."

Neptune, who had been there the whole time, can't help but wince when he saw Glynda slapping the man across the cheek with her riding crop. Despite how small the weapon was, it managed to send the Black Knight crashing down to the ground with ease.

Students nearby who saw the scene were shocked to their core, and were thankful they weren't in his shoes. It must've been painful, and it's a miracle he was still breathing.

"We tried to warn him," Makoto said with a shrug. "Can't say I feel sorry for him though."

"Why do women hit so much harder than men?" Kagura groaned from where he was, not making any effort to move. "It's ridiculous."

"Maybe you should think twice before talking," Tsubaki said disapprovingly, and Noel simply nodded at her words.

"I'll try to keep that in mind."

* * *

Things weren't going so well on Adam's end. The Dark Susano'o was too powerful for him to handle. Hell, his weapon couldn't even do much shit against the bastard. But at least it did something, rather than nothing.

Despite the odds, Adam kept getting back up every time he was knocked to the ground. He didn't know where the extra energy came from, but that didn't stop him from fighting his opponent.

 **"Hey, if you keep on charging at me like that,"** Terumi began as he swung his long blade in a wide arc, knocking Adam aside. **"you're gonna die. Not that I mind."**

Adam, who had blocked the devastating attack, went back up on his feet once more. To be perfectly frank, he looked like shit. He was running low on Aura, and he knew if he kept on fighting, he'd die at some point. But despite all that, he smirked.

"Nice to see that you're going all-out," Adam commented.

 **"Tch!"** was all Terumi said as he charged forward. He was unprepared when a massive green beam came from his side, which ended up with him being blasted through multiple buildings.

Adam looks over at Penny, nodding as thanks.

The girl waved at him with a grin, with all her blades circling around her. "You're welcome!"

"This is getting nowhere," Winter growled as she took in large amounts of air. She would be lying if she said she wasn't tired. "What the hell should we do?"

"We kill him," Adam simply replied, sounding as if it was easy to accomplish.

"And how, pray tell, do we do that?" she glared at him, along with Neo who stood at her side.

Neo didn't look in good condition herself. Her clothes were tattered, her arms hurt, she had cuts and bruises, and her Aura couldn't even handle her injuries. But just like Adam, she kept on fighting.

Death sure as hell scared her, but nothing can stop her when it comes to settling a score with someone. Nothing ever did.

"I think I have a plan. A dangerous plan," Adam suddenly announced.

"In this condition we're in, we can't afford to take anymore risk!" Winter snapped at him, "A slight mistake spells doom for all of us."

"Who said you guys were the ones getting yourselves in danger?" Adam asked, ignoring the sound of an explosion going off in the distance.

"W-What do you mean?"

He sighs, "You don't need to know. All you guys need to do right now, is to watch my back. And that means you too, Neo."

Neo stares at him in shock, mouth agape. She raised a finger to argue, but Adam silenced her with a stern glare.

"Support you from the distance?" Penny asked with a tilt of her head, confused. "Are you sure?"

"Are you mad!?" Winter shouted, staring at Adam as if he was a mad person. Well, she wasn't completely wrong when it came to that. "You'll get killed!"

Neo jabbed a finger into his chest, twice, and nodded.

"Even you?" Adam raised an eyebrow, but then chuckled when the short girl stuck out her tongue at him. "Nope. I'm still going to do it."

Winter gritted her teeth, pointing at his face as she said, "There's no way you're going to-"

 **"Did anyone miss me? Hahaha!"**

Everyone entered their battle stance when they saw Terumi walking out of the smoke, seemingly unharmed. If Penny's ultimate attack failed to even make him feel the slightest of pains, then they don't know what will.

"Proceed with the plan!" Adam ordered without warning as he charges in with reckless abandon, shocking the others.

"There was never a plan to begin with!" Winter yelled as she summoned a glyph above Adam, boosting him up with a spell. Whatever this plan of his was, it's clear that there's no stopping it now. With little to no other choice on the matter, Winter decided to just follow his crazy plan and see how it'd go.

"You better know what you're doing, Taurus."

Adam kept his hand on the hilt of his weapon as he charged in, fully knowing the plan inside his head might not work.

 **"Say goodbye to your head!"** Terumi planted his foot on the ground and swung his long blade at Adam's head, grinning wickedly.

Seeing the blade coming his way, Adam reacted quickly by running towards it with Wilt held up in front of him, much to the shock of everyone.

"Taurus!?" Winter called out.

"This better work!" Adam roared as he closes his eyes, uncertain if he had made the right choice. If he somehow survives through this, then he'd have to thank Winter for the boost later.

When the long energy blade made contact with his own, Adam did everything he could to stand his ground, lest he be thrown away like a rag doll. The pain in his arms were too much for his Aura, but he kept pushing forward.

To say it was a painful experience was like getting hit on the foot by a small harmless toy car. It was much more than that.

However, that's when he felt it.

Adam couldn't believe it, but it worked. His insane and suicidal plan had actually worked. It wasn't much, but to him, it was more than enough.

Time to heat things up a bit.

"This shall be interesting…"

He smirked.

 **"What the..."** Terumi trailed off as he saw the bright red glow emitting from Adam's hair, along with the symbol across his back. **"...hell?"**

* * *

"You're in serious trouble when we get back! You hear me!?"

Yang winced as Hazama kept yelling at her, keeping her eyes down at her feet. No one knew, but those pair of eyes scared her more than anything. Kval's glare was nothing like this. It's like they were staring into her soul, and she obviously didn't like that.

"You're lucky my coat's not ruined!" he growled.

"B-But it was my-" Jaune started, but silenced himself when a sharp glare was sent his way.

"Professor, I think she already learned her lesson. How about we pretend this never happened?" Pyrrha said with a polite smile, earning a sigh from Hazama and a thankful look from Yang. "Please?"

"Damn kids," was all he said as he closed his eyes, before letting out a frustrated sigh. "I really hate this job."

"Loosen up will you!?" Nora exclaimed, patting the frustrated man on the back with more force than necessary.

"Gah!"

"Whoops! Sorry!" Nora scratches her head while grinning, looking all but sorry. No doubt she did that on purpose.

"You going to be okay?"

Ruby turned to Kval, and saw the worried look he was giving her. She blew a raspberry, rolling her eyes playfully as a small chuckle escaped her lips.

"Figures. You haven't seen me in action yet. You'd be surprised," she stated rather confidently, pulling her hood over her head. "Whatever our mission throws at us, I'm sure we could handle it.

"This counts as a mission?" Kval asked, dumbfounded. "I thought it was something different."

"Nope! We're on a mission." She gave him a pat on the back. "And I know you can most probably handle yourself in the field, but…" Ruby trailed off as she landed her gaze on Yang, who was currently laughing at Hazama, before placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "…stay safe. For me."

Kval's cheeks slowly became red as he stared at Ruby, nodding.

"I will."

Ruby gave him a shy grin, blushing slightly.

"I know you will."

* * *

Monty looks up just in time to see a Bullhead flying high over his head. He fishes out his scroll from his pocket, sending a quick message to Ozpin. When he was done, he deactivated his scroll and kept it back inside his pocket, then sighed.

"Well, looks like it's my time to shine."

Monty jumps down from the rooftop he was on, all the while smiling.

Time to move forward.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap! Please review, and point out mistakes if you see any.**

 **I think I rusted again. But anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks again for supporting my story!**

 **If you guys are a bunch of hardcore RWBY fans, then you have to watch this AMV! The feels are too strong, even for me.**

 **www . youtube .** **com/watch ? v = QW9P9J6RjC8**

 **I'll see you guys later then! Peace out!**


	33. Phase 33

**Welcome to Phase 33 of Still Alive!**

 **I'm truly sorry for the long wait, but I got a bit busy with my studies, and not to mention that I was also busy with trying to find myself a decent job** **to earn some extra cash** **.**

 **Anyway, about Phase 33. Well you see, I was planning on having it around 7000 words, but...I think I did too much,** **not that it's a bad thing** **. This is the first time I've reached around 10000 words, and I'm honestly surprised. I guess this is proof that I've been busy with Phase 33 as well.** **And it's all thanks to you guys! Seriously, I can't thank you guys enough for supporting this little story of mine, but for now, I think I'll just thank you all anyway!**

 **I wanna thank moki0316 for giving me his amazing reviews, and also for giving me fuel to move forward with my story by simply writing his own story. For those of you who are clueless, he's the author of Remnants of the Azure: Rebirth, and also the new Sector Seven's (Second) Best, or as I like to call it, Yang's Totally Awesome Adventure. Yes, both of those stories are crossovers between BlazBlue and RWBY, so be sure to check them out!**

 **Speaking of which, a friend of mine,** **Eclipze-X77** **, had created his own story, which is titled** **BlazBlue X RWBY: The Azure's Will Against Remnant's Stronghold. Do him a favor and check it out as well!**

 **And I don't know if you're still here, but I also want to thank Sir Bearington for mentioning my story in TV Tropes. It means a lot to me, and if you're there, go say hi in the reviews! I'm sorry it took me a while to notice this. By the way, could you do me a favor and change the sypnosis with the updated one? Thanks again!**

 **That is all from me, and I do hope you'll enjoy this Phase. I can't say I'm proud of it, but I'll just have to make do with what I have, I guess.**

 **Oh, and make sure you listen to some good music while you read!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **Now, enjoy!**

 **-IIXII-**

Jin simply scowled at the scene displayed before him. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure why he was here in the first place. All he knew was that Ozpin, who he barely even knew, called him up to his office for unknown reasons, and that's about it.

"Something big is happening down there, and you expect me to do nothing about it!? This is not a joke, Ozpin."

Out of all the things that annoyed him at this current moment, the one named James Ironwood was the most annoying. One minute of silence was all he needed, but with that pathetic piece of trash in the same room, it was near impossible. If it weren't for Ozpin, he would've cleaved the man in two a few minutes ago.

"James, everything is going to be fine. Trust me when I say my students can handle it, no matter how bad the situation may be. Besides, I had someone much more experienced tagging along with them just in case," Ozpin assured with his expression stoic, ignoring the glare James was giving him.

"Three Bullheads, each filled with my men, were ordered to assist Miss Schnee with whatever she was up against, and they were destroyed. _Destroyed_ , Ozpin. Isn't that what your associate told you?" James growled, barely containing the anger in his voice.

"Yes, that was written in his report," Ozpin nodded. "But even so, I am against the idea of you sending in your entire fleet in that specific area. We are in the time of peace, James, and you of all people should remember that. The other kingdoms will get the wrong idea, and with the White Fang on our plates, the civilians are already living in fear. That is why, I don't think it is a wise choice for us to send in a dragon to handle an ant's situation." The man stomped his cane onto the ground, adding, "We can't afford to attract Grimm into the city! We need to handle this tactfully, and my students are experienced enough to handle the situation. Listen James, you are not thinking straight-"

"I have thousands of armed men, and every last one of them are prepared for combat, and no matter what you say, your students are a bit inexperienced for this," James interrupted. "You truly believe that you're children-"

"You're being too loud. I suggest you shut that pathetic excuse of a mouth and leave, lest I turn you into a fucking ice sculpture. This is my only warning."

Both Ozpin and James turned their heads to the third person inside the room, and what met them was the sight of Jin on the verge of losing his patience. Ozpin remained calm, but General Ironwood didn't take the threat too well.

"Was that a threat? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Without waiting for an answer, General Ironwood turned to Ozpin, "Who is this, and why is he here?"

Professor Ozpin let out a tired sigh at the man's behavior, before saying "James, this man here is-"

"Worthless trash," Jin interrupted, much to James' displeasure. Whether the insult was meant for James or Ozpin, they weren't really sure. "He doesn't need to know my name. All I want to know right now, is the reason why you called me. I have more important things to do other than watching this useless sack of shit yelling for no reason like a complete moron."

General Ironwood fixed Jin a sharp glare, pointing at him as he growled, "Do you have any manners? If it were up to me, I'd have you-"

"James, that's enough," Ozpin warned, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. The man went silent at the warning, but kept glaring daggers at Jin. As long as they don't start murdering each other in his clean office, then it's fine by him. "Anyway, he's right. There's a reason why I called him up here."

Jin, who had been glaring at James the entire time, turned to Ozpin with an eyebrow raised, "So? What is it?"

Professor Ozpin couldn't help but smile when his coffee mug reached his lips, taking a short sip of his freshly made drink. He lowered the mug when he was done, and said, "I have good news for you, Mister Kisaragi. _Very_ good news."

Jin clicked his tongue in annoyance, and hissed, "Get to the damn point already!"

James wanted to plant the man's face on the wall for disrespecting his friend right then and there, but decided against it when Ozpin gave him a serious look as a warning. Looks like doing nothing is the only solution for now.

"You remember Glynda Goodwitch, I assume?" Ozpin tilted his head slightly, and Jin simply gave him a curt nod as an answer. "Well then, she contacted me earlier, saying that we had visitors. They're an interesting bunch, if I may add."

"What does that-"

"And they're looking for you," Ozpin interrupted, smiling as he did so.

Jin, in that moment, was entirely speechless. Every time he tried to form words in his mouth, none came out. He was shocked, and in the end, all he could do was stare at the mysterious man in front of him.

"What?"

"You heard me" was all Ozpin said before he took a long sip of his coffee, much to James' confusion. Unlike the other two, who completely knew what they were talking about, James was left in the dark and was utterly confused, not to mention curious.

"Hey, what are you two-"

The sound of the door slowly opening could be heard, and after a few seconds of silence, an all too familiar voice reached Jin's ears.

"Jin? I-Is that…really you?"

Slowly, Jin turned his head towards the doorway, and who he saw shocked him to his very core.

And he was happy.

 **-IIXII-**

Winter couldn't believe her eyes at that moment. And not just her, but Neo and Penny as well. That was because Adam, who had looked like he could barely even stand after a long while of fighting, was actually gaining ground against Terumi, and that was unimaginable.

She dared not imagine Adam's fate had the insane plan failed. It would most likely cost him his life. But who knew he had an ability to absorb certain attacks like a sponge?

Well, she did saw him absorbing an energy serpent with his blade earlier, so it wasn't really that much of a surprise.

That's when a plan made itself known inside the young woman's head. Winter immediately turned to Penny, and ordered, "Penny, prepare your blades and charge up your energy beam."

"For how long?" Penny asked, her blades already taking positions in front of her.

"When I give the command, you fire. Understand?" Winter explained, earning a nod from the girl. She then looked to Neo, who was currently staring at the fight in complete awe. "Neo, I need you to go charge your way in there and assist Adam. I have a feeling he's going to need it."

The short girl narrowed her eyes and stared at Winter, placing both hands on her hips. She pointed at Adam, then at herself, before pointing down on the ground.

"I know what he said, but trust me when I say that I know what I'm doing. Besides, he _did_ told us to watch his back, did he not?" Winter smirked, catching Neo off-guard with her words. "I have a plan, now go."

 **-IIXII-**

Every time Adam clashed blades with Terumi, his red hair, along with the symbol across his back, glowed. The more hits he blocked, the more brighter they became. He was practically absorbing the energy like there's no tomorrow.

 **"You're one hell of a persistent bastard!"**

With a growl, Terumi held his blade with both hands and brought it down onto Adam at full force. The bull faunus saw it coming, and quickly went down on one knee as he held Wilt right above him, successfully blocking the attack while at the same time absorbing the energy.

In pure rage, Terumi began assaulting Adam with a flurry of slashes with his energy blade, but the faunus simply blocked each and every one of the attacks, absorbing more energy while he was at it.

All charged up, Adam entered a stance and disintegrated Terumi's blade in one swift move, much to the madman's shock. The faunus slowly sheathed his blade, smirking as he did so.

"I'm guessing you didn't-"

Before Adam could finish his sentence, Neo made her sudden appearance and ran past him.

Upon seeing the short girl heading his way, the Dark Susano'o went into a battle stance to prepare himself, locking his eyes onto his new opponent.

"Neo!? What are you doing!?"

This wasn't part of the plan. It never was to begin with.

This was supposed to be _his_ fight, and Neo barging in was the last thing he expected to happen. He had made it clear to them that they should stay back, and assist him only when necessary, not charge in like complete idiots.

As Neo began engaging the Dark Susano'o in CQC, since his blade was disintegrated, Adam turned around to give the Schnee a heated glare. He was furious, and the reddish glow emitting from his hair and back made him look all the more fearsome. But what he saw was not what he expected.

The sight of a beam cannon charging up to fire in a person's general direction would certainly scare said person. Fortunately, Adam wasn't one to be scared that easily. Rather than being scared, he was surprised and confused instead.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

Instead of giving him an explanation, Winter smirked and yelled, "Make good use of the energy she's giving you!" She summoned a large glyph right beneath his feet, giving him another boost, before shouting, "Fire!"

Penny pulled her hands back, before thrusting them forward. At this, the green beam came blasting its way towards Adam, destroying everything else in its path.

He grunted. "I see. Should've thought about this from the start."

Adam drew his blade and prepared himself, closing his eyes as the beam got closer. And he made no effort to wipe away the smirk across his lips.

As Adam was busy absorbing the beam's energy, Neo was tasked with buying the faunus a few seconds by distracting Terumi. It may didn't sound too hard, but Neo would be lying if she said it wasn't.

A fist came flying towards her, and her entire frame shattered when it made contact with her face. Neo reappeared behind the Dark Susano'o, and swung her blade in a wide arc. She scored a hit.

Neo smirked, but it was soon wiped off her face when Terumi quickly whirled himself around. He proceeded to grab her by the throat before she could even react.

 **"Was that the best you could do? Well?"**

The Dark Susano'o wasted no time in slamming the girl down onto the concrete ground, which ended up with her weapon flying out of her grasp, before doing it once more.

Neo's Aura flared, and her eyes grew wide in horror. Before she could do anything, she was then yet again slammed down onto the ground, which caused her to cough up a bit of blood from her mouth. Neo gritted her teeth and grabbed the arm that held her throat, kicking her legs wildly in a poor attempt to set herself free.

 **"You've been a very bad girl. I think you deserve a time-out, don't you think? Bad girls need to learn their lessons, after all."** He laughed, currently enjoying the look which was displayed across her features as he lifted her off the ground. **"Do you want a broken neck, or your brain to splatter across the ground? Which do you prefer more? Both, perhaps? If so, then just say the word and I'll do it! Oh wait I forgot, you're fucking mute! Hahaha!"**

Neo simply spat at the bastard's face as an answer, wishing she could see the look on his face when the sound of him growling reached her ears. Despite the tight situation she was in, Neo gave him a shit-eating grin without a second thought, angering the man further.

He tightened his grip around her neck, snarling as he said, **"I'll see you in hell, brat. Once I'm done with you, all your pals are next."**

Neo glared daggers at where his eyes should be, wincing as he began crushing her throat. She then closed her eyes, before picturing Roman inside her mind. If he ever saw her like this, she wondered what he would say to her. But one thing was certain.

That smirk of his never failed to bring a smile across her lips.

And so, she smiled.

 **"Moonslice."**

 **"Gah!"**

Neo gasped for air as she fell down onto the ground, holding her neck as she quickly scrambled away to get to her weapon. That was one hell of a terrifying near death experience she'd never forget, and a first one at that.

The Dark Susano'o slowly disintegrated after receiving Adam's fully charged deadly attack, revealing Terumi who was now on his knees with an arm wrapped around his stomach. Knowing that the tide has slightly turned, Terumi held out his free arm and created another blade. He whirled around and swung the long blade in a wide arc, but ended up locking said blade with Adam's.

"You had your fun. Time to end this," Adam growled.

Terumi scowled at the persistent bull faunus, before engulfing his entire body in dark energy once more. Once the Dark Susano'o was done shaping itself, Terumi held his blade with both hands and attempted to push the faunus back. Adam stood his ground, however, absorbing more energy while glaring daggers at the psychopath. The two started to glow in their respectful colors as they began pressuring each other, a mixture of red and dark green.

Winter wanted to join in, but the furious look Adam had given her earlier sent shivers running down her spine. Speaking of which, the faunus gritted his teeth and spared her a brief glance, and she knew what that meant. In the end, all she could do was sigh.

"He's a stubborn one." Winter looked to her side, smiling at the sight of Penny tending to Neo's wounds, while her blades hovered around as protection. Pitying the poor soul, Winter summoned a glyph underneath the heavily injured girl, and slowly healed all her injuries. "I just hope this ends well…"

If she was out of the fight for whatever reasons, then Penny would just take her place. It was as simple as that.

Penny heard what Winter had said, however, and decided to assure her by saying, "I'm sure it will. We should trust the faunus a bit more. Besides, he _is_ the most skilled one out of all of us."

"Wait," Winter began as she landed her gaze on Penny, shocked. "he's more skilled than I am? How do you know this?"

"I scanned him, and it's just my calculations." She shrugged, grinning all the while. "Not to mention he is much more experienced."

"I'm…shocked. Are you sure he's stronger than me?"

Penny nodded. "Positive, Miss Winter."

Winter sighed. "Well, it looks like I need to train more…" She then smiled. "Penny, how about you go and help our faunus friend over there? I'll take care of Neo."

"Affirmative!" The girl stood up, prepared her blades, and ran towards the battle. "Time for combat!"

The young woman chuckled at Penny's childish behavior, which reminded her of her younger self. If only Weiss could see her now.

"Winter!"

Winter stiffened when the familiar voice reached her ears. "It…couldn't be." She slowly turned herself around, and was soon met with the sight of her little sister, who was on a Bullhead along with a bunch of other people she didn't recognize. "W-What?"

 **-IIXII-**

Weiss sighed in relief. "She's okay…"

"Is that your sister?" Ruby asked while loading her scythe, but was soon baffled when her eyes landed on Penny. "Wait, is that Penny!?"

"Is that Neo!?" Yang shouted, eyes turning red at the sight of the injured and unconscious girl. The very same girl who had kicked her ass in the past. "That little midget is mine!"

"I-Is that…Adam?" Blake stuttered, eyes widening. But then, the person who Adam was fighting against caught her attention. "Who on Remnant…is that?" To be honest, the sight of someone having an even fight with Adam, who was currently at full power, was unimaginable, and it somewhat scared her.

Suddenly, Ouroboros came flying in the Dark Susano'o's direction, which turned out to be coming from a small portal Kval had summoned. No one was able to see his expression, as he pulled himself forward without warning. And before anyone could react, Hazama followed the younger vessel's example, and pulled himself towards the battle without so much of a single word.

"H-Hey! What on Remnant are you two doing!?" Ruby called out, shocked, and wasted no time in jumping down the Bullhead.

Weiss and Yang decided to follow their leader, but Blake was hesitant at first. After taking a second to calm her nerves, the cat faunus finally jumped down and followed her teammates.

"Come on guys, we have to help them!" Pyrrha exclaimed, before she herself jumped down the Bullhead, and was soon followed by Nora and Ren.

"Stay close!" Jaune ordered. He drew his blade and activated his shield, and proceeded to jump down the Bullhead as well, looking all nervous.

 **-IIXII-**

 **"Drop dead already you persistent bitch!"** Terumi roared, and proceeded to swing his blade down onto Adam. However, before the blade could even be brought down upon its target, something quickly came in and held it in place. **"What the hell!?"** He looked up to see what the problem was, and was shocked when Ouroboros entered his vision, as it held his blade with its jaws. And before he could do anything else, a leg came in and kicked him from behind, which ended up with him stumbling towards his current opponent.

Adam, who saw the whole thing, took the opportunity and slashed the Dark Susano'o across the stomach area.

Terumi winced upon receiving the attack, but he managed to ignore the pain and surprised Adam by grabbing his face, right before slamming his head down onto the ground. He sensed movement from behind, and immediately used Adam as a meat shield just in time for him to block a few blasts from a pair of blades, which belonged to a certain synthetic being.

Penny gasped in the distance, wide-eyed. "Oh no…"

"Ugh! Shit!" Adam hissed as the beams made contact with his unprotected back. He was about to slice off the arm which held his face, but was unfortunately thrown aside before he had a chance to, crashing against the side of a nearby car. The glow emitting from his hair and across his back grew dim, as he slowly went unconscious.

And he could've sworn he heard Blake calling out his name.

 **"Alright,"** Terumi started. He slowly turned away from Adam, who was now unconscious. **"which one of you asses kicked-"**

 **"Jayoku Hōtenjin!"**

Terumi was sent flying into the air in an instant, utterly shocked at the turn of events. However, there was only one person he knew who was capable enough of performing a devastating kick like this. There was no mistaking it.

 **"Hazama!?"**

"Bingo! You won a prize!" Hazama exclaimed. He coiled Ouroboros around Terumi in midair, right before slamming him down onto the ground. He did the same thing twice, and proceeded to throw the psychopath at a wrecked car which was nearby, which soon exploded to bits.

Damn that felt great.

Hazama pulled Ouroboros back into its portal, one eye cracking open. "That won't be enough to kill him, but it's a start."

"He's mine," Kval muttered. He made his way towards where Terumi was currently at, but was halted in his tracks when Hazama landed a hand on his shoulder. "What?"

"I have a score to settle with that bastard, so just go sit around with your friends while I beat the crap out of him. Besides, he doesn't even know you're here yet," Hazama pointed out.

"Weren't you the one who suggested we work together on this?" Kval shot back.

Hazama growled. "Look, I know what I said…"

As the two vessels were busy arguing, Terumi could be seen walking his way out of the flames. He dragged his long blade along the ground, snarling as he set his eyes on Hazama. However, the sight of a certain someone who was standing beside his previous vessel made him stop completely. Someone who should've been dead. Should've _stayed_ dead.

But here he was.

 **"What** … **the** … **fuck?"**

This was impossible, and attempting to figure out what was going on only resulted with him having a minor headache instead of an answer. First Hazama, and now him? That's just not possible.

 **"How did he even escape the Boundary** … **in the first place?"**

Terumi had questions for the boy. He wanted to know how he survived, and more importantly, how he managed to escape the Boundary and end up here of all places. That being said, was he even _capable_ of leaving the Boundary?

Damn this was all confusing.

Terumi gritted his teeth.

No matter. He'll just have to take matters into his own hands.

"Fine. But if you get in my way, then I won't hesitate to put you down. Do I make myself clear?" Hazama warned, earning a curt nod from Kval. "Good. Now, let's go kick his ass."

 **"Well, if it isn't my old pal, Kazuma Kval."** Terumi smirked underneath his dark armor. **"Can't say I'm not surprised to see you again. It's been so long since we last saw each other. Are you well? How are you holding up? Hehehe!"**

Kval and Hazama turned to Terumi, and immediately prepared themselves for battle. The younger of the two took out his knives, while Hazama strolled his way towards his target with his hands deep inside his pockets, expression calm.

"I have nothing to say to you, Terumi," the young vessel muttered, glaring as he did so. Despite the questions he wanted to ask, all Kval wanted at this moment was to beat the crap out of the asshole who had ruined his life.

 **"You're no fun,"** Terumi mocked.

Without warning, Hazama vanished into thin air, before quickly reappearing again behind the Dark Susano'o. The two then engaged in combat, and not too long after that, Kval joined in.

 **-IIXII-**

"Something tells me that we shouldn't interfere, lest something bad will happen," Ren stated. He aimed StormFlower at the Dark Susano'o, just in case if he decided to attack him or his friends without warning. He turned his head to say something to Nora, but the sight of Yang activating her Ember Celica caught his attention. "Yang, what are you doing?"

The blonde grinned. "Joining the fun, that's what! I don't know what's going on, but I didn't go all the way out here just for nothing!" She looked to Neo from the corner of her eyes, who was still unconscious. "The little midget can wait." And with that, Yang ran towards the raging battle, much to everyone's shock. "See you guys later!"

"Yang wait!" Ruby called out, but groaned loudly when Yang ignored her. With no ideas in mind, she decided to follow her big sister's example without so much of a choice. "Come on guys, let's do this!"

"I'm on it!" Nora replied with a cheerful grin. She transformed Magnhild into its war hammer form, and proceeded to charge her way towards the raging battle with Ren following right beside her.

As the others went ahead, Weiss decided it would be best to stay and talk to her older sister. Besides, it wasn't everyday she got to meet with Winter, with all the work piling up on her plate. She knew that her big sister was a busy woman, and had little time for family matters, so this was an opportunity she was willing to take. No matter the situation.

"Winter," she began, as the look of worry took over her features.

"Weiss," the older of the two simply responded, feeling slightly nervous.

Without thinking, Weiss took a couple of steps forward and pulled the young woman into a tight embrace.

Winter wasn't expecting this of all things, from her sister no less. But despite that, she decided to return the gesture, albeit a bit awkwardly and somewhat hesitantly.

"I'm so glad that you're okay," Weiss murmured, "And it's also good to see you again."

Winter hummed. "I'm glad to see you again too. I hope you're doing well at Beacon, my little sister."

"I-I am, actually." Weiss took a step back and smiled, feeling a bit happy knowing that her sister cared for her well-being. But her smile was soon washed off her face when she took note of how tattered the woman's clothes were. Then, a low growl escaped her lips when her icy eyes landed on Winter's leg.

Even though it was already healed by her Aura, the bite mark was still visible if one look closely enough.

"Who did this," she muttered, "and where is he? No one messes with a Schnee, let alone my older sister."

 **-IIXII-**

 **"You're much more better than I remembered, Kazuma. Kinda starting to make me wonder what you've been up to all this time,"** Terumi taunted, much to Kval's displeasure. Fortunately, however, the vessel decided to stay silent. **"Hey, you going to talk or-"**

Hazama came in and slammed the Dark Susano'o down to the ground with his serpents in order to shut him up, shaking his head shortly after. "I swear, it's like we're dealing with a small child…"

Kval chuckled. "And I thought _you_ were annoying. By the way, thanks for the save there."

Hazama turned to the younger vessel with a dumbfounded expression, furrowing his brows before asking, "Save? What save?"

Without warning, the Dark Susano'o came rushing out of the smoke towards the two, and to say that he was pissed off was an understatement. The psychopath brought his blade high above his head and roared, **"Nothing personal, but I'll see you in hell!"**

The two vessels were unprepared for the sudden attack, as they weren't expecting him to get back up so soon. But luckily, a certain blonde brawler came in and saved their asses.

Well, technically she _dropped_ her way in.

 **"Here comes the fist of fury!"** Yang yelled from above.

Terumi looked up when the unfamiliar voice reached his ears, and a flaming fist came slamming his head down onto the concrete ground, which was combined with a powerful blast, courtesy of Ember Celica. He remained on the ground after receiving the initial attack, unmoving as the dark energy around his body began to fade away.

Yang dusted her clothes while deactivating Ember Celica with her eyes on her target, looking somewhat surprised and disappointed. "Was that all he had? Seriously?" She blew a raspberry. "Lame."

"Yang, you could've killed him! I thought I told you to think first before you start punching!" Ruby scolded, not at all noticing the shocked expressions which were visible across the faces of certain people. If Adam was awake and saw what Yang did, he'd have a meltdown.

"I'm…somehow not surprised," Jaune muttered with a blank expression, which earned him a cute giggle from his red-haired partner. He deactivated his shield and sheathed his sword, muttering, "I'm being serious though…"

"H-How…how on Remnant did you just do that?" Penny stuttered, wide-eyed.

"What do you mean by that? I mean, everyone knows that the perfect way to take down a stronger enemy is to take them down while they're distracted. Kazuma and Professor Hazama did a pretty good job at distracting him, so I took the opportunity and struck him where he least expected it." Yang placed her hands on her hips with a smug grin, and pointed her finger to the sky above. "You could say it was easy as _sky_! Get it?"

Nearly everyone groaned at the bad pun. No surprises there.

"Come on, it wasn't _that_ bad…" Yang grumbled, frowning.

"Easy? You thought it was easy!? Do you not know who this is!?" Hazama yelled out in a mixture of pure anger and sheer frustration. The fact that this blonde had taken down Terumi with a single punch didn't sit well with him. Not in a million years was that ever possible.

"I've no clue at all, Professor," Yang easily replied, shrugging while doing so.

Kval simply stared at his blonde friend, not knowing how to react. But as ridiculous as it sounded, Yang had a point. Taking a stronger foe down while they were distracted was the most logical thing to do, and even an idiot would know.

"I can't believe it…" Hazama grumbled, "This must be a sick dream. This has to be."

Yang frowned. "Seriously, what's the big deal?" Suddenly, a hand came in and grabbed her by the leg, and she wasted no time in looking down with surprise evident on her face. "What the-"

"You'll pay for that, you little bitch!" Terumi snarled. He pulled Yang's leg, which caused her to fall down onto the concrete ground. Taking the chance, he threw the blonde right where Adam was. Terumi got back up to his feet soon after, all the while holding the side of his head in utter pain. "That punch was powerful…even for me."

 **-IIXII-**

Blake made her way towards Adam with Gambol Shroud in her hands, who was still unconscious.

She didn't know whether to be surprised of him getting defeated in battle, or that he didn't have his mask on. It was probably both. Back when she was still working for the White Fang, she rarely saw Adam with his mask off, and the same goes for him getting defeated in battle. In fact, she never did.

When Adam was thrown aside by whoever his opponent was, Blake didn't know why, but she actually called out his name. She felt worried.

For _him_ of all people.

"Why?" Blake asked herself.

Was it possible? Could it be true?

That, she wasn't quite sure. Besides, it's just a possibility, right?

Before Blake could dig any deeper into her emotions, her blonde partner came flying in towards where Adam was, crashing into his stomach. This, of course, woke up the bull faunus, and he didn't seem very pleased to say the least.

Blake quickly hid herself behind a nearby car, as she didn't want Yang to know she was there, or _why_ she was there in the first place. She never really liked dealing with unwanted questions.

"S-Sorry," Yang coughed. She didn't take note of her partner who was hiding behind a damaged vehicle nearby, or who she just crashed into.

"Get off me…damn human…" Adam groaned with his eyes shut. Judging by the look on his face, he wanted nothing more but to push the blonde away from him. But in his current condition, he couldn't. "Ugh…dammit…"

"Not my fault…" Yang muttered. She rolled down the faunus' legs, and resisted the urge to hiss out in pain when she attempted to move her left leg. "That guy had a really strong grip…"

"Just…scram…" Adam weakly growled.

"Well someone's having a bad day," Yang mumbled, seemingly annoyed at the faunus' poor attitude.

 **-IIXII-**

"I'll take you all at once!" Terumi growled, beckoning them over. "I'll rip all your-"

"You talk too much!"

"Huh!?" Terumi turned his head around, just in time for him to see an orange-haired girl swinging her large mallet right at him. That huge grin of hers was wild, and he couldn't help but respect that. "How-"

Ren winced at the sight of Nora sending the poor man crashing through multiple buildings, while the others observed the scene with sheepish looks. Kval and Hazama, however, were shocked.

"This world is crazy." Hazama kept his gaze on the hole where Terumi came crashing through moments ago, then added, "Should just turn this place into an insane asylum."

"Hey!" Ruby yelled.

"Hazama, let's go," Kval said as he took a few steps forward.

"Wait."

Kval turned around in order to give the other vessel a look as if he was crazy, and said, "What in the world are you saying? Terumi's right there!"

"I just want to see how skilled your friends are in terms of combat," Hazama explained, "And judging by the looks of things, they seem to be handling the situation pretty well."

"What? I'm not too sure about this…"

Upon hearing this, Hazama grumbled something under his breath, and later turned to Kval. "If the situation goes south, then we'll step in and interfere. Does that sound better?"

Kval took a second to think, before finally agreeing, albeit a bit reluctantly. "Fine. But if anything happens," He glared. "I'm blaming you."

Hazama simply shrugged, smiling. "Fair enough."

Terumi came rushing out of the smoke all of a sudden, heading towards Nora with what others would call a crazed grin. "Hyahaha! Come on little girl! Show me what you can really do!" Despite the devastating hit he just took, the man seemed fine. The others were somewhat shocked by this.

Nora replied simply by charging forward, her huge grin never leaving her face, before slamming Magnhild down onto her target. However, Terumi quickly took out his knives and blocked the powerful attack, but the force of the blow managed to crack the concrete ground beneath him.

"What…is that guy made of?" Jaune asked, utterly shocked. "If he can take that hit without fracturing a single bone in his body, then I know for a fact that I can't face him."

"For once, I agree with you," Pyrrha said as she eyed the battle. "We should handle this carefully. From what I can tell, that man is probably holding back."

"I'm going in," Ren suddenly announced. He immediately ran ahead, much to everyone's surprise.

"W-Wait! We should-" Ruby tried to say, but was interrupted when a white blur zoomed past her. "W-Who!?"

Nora gave her opponent a malicious grin, and Terumi returned the look, which was _far more_ terrifying than he had actually intended. Deciding to act first, the strong girl prepared Magnhild and swung it in a wide arc, as it was an attempt to take him by surprise.

The attack was in vain, however, when Terumi responded in kind by blocking the powerful attack with a summoned serpent, thanks to his quick reflexes. He was about to tear her apart with his knives, but the moment he saw Nora grinning at him with a mischievous glint in her eye, he knew something was up.

Nora squeezed Magnhild's trigger. "Oops!"

"Fu-"

Terumi was blasted aside in an instance.

Now _that_ was unexpected.

Good thing his serpent took the brunt of the assault, or else his clothes would've been ruined.

The girl looked to him, and proceeded to raise Magnhild high above her head with one hand, right before exclaiming, "Haha! No one messes with the Queen!"

"You're…something," Terumi coughed out. He slowly made his way out of the smoke, peering at her from underneath his hood.

"I'm the Queen, after all," Nora stated with a smug look, her head held high.

"Switch!"

Nora knew whose voice that was, so she simply nodded. "Okay!"

"Another one?" Terumi sneered.

Ren came in and began firing countless of rounds at his target, who wasted no time in dodging through all of them, while occasionally deflecting a few with his knives. Once he got closer, Ren quickly kept StormFlower in his sleeves and focused on his Aura, right before zooming in ahead in order to jab the man's chest with his palm.

"Guh!" Terumi's eyes grew wide at this. He coughed up a bit of blood, shocking Ren unintentionally.

"No Aura!?" Ren exclaimed, wide-eyed. He immediately jumped back, taking out StormFlower once more. "How…?"

"Switch?" Nora asked from the distance, tilting her head slightly.

Ren shook his head. "No, I think we're-" He was interrupted when a white blur zoomed past him.

Terumi regained his bearings, and again, thanks to his quick reflexes, he was able to parry an attack which came from _another_ opponent. He set his gaze on his new attacker, and narrowed his eyes at who he saw. "You seem awfully familiar."

"You fiend," the girl growled, "No one is allowed to harm my dear sister when I'm around. I'll make sure you pay for what you've done."

"Sister?" Terumi furrowed his brows, but after taking a closer look at the girl's facial features, it finally clicked in his mind. He laughed. "So she _does_ have a sister! Hahaha! I was right!"

"Hey!"

Terumi turned to where the voice came from, and quickly leaned back in time to avoid a flaming fist from colliding with his face. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, and shouldered the annoying blonde, which ended up with her toppling over the other girl.

"Ow! Yang, watch it! Get off me, you brute!"

"My bad!"

Before Terumi could make his next move, he was forced to retreat when a bunch of swords came flying in his direction, much to his annoyance. "You again!?" He sent Penny a sharp glare, only for her to return it.

"No one is allowed to hurt my friends!" Penny declared with determination.

"Cute," he replied.

"Don't forget about us!" Nora called out. She aimed Magnhild, which was in its grenade launcher form, right at him. Ren was also beside her, doing the same with StormFlower.

"Nora, be extra careful. I don't know how, but the man doesn't seem to have his Aura unlocked," Ren warned. Deep down, he was really curious to know how the man was able to stay intact after receiving a bunch of devastating attacks from Nora, without an Aura no less. But that could wait.

"Roger that!" Nora exclaimed, but despite that, she began firing all her grenades at the man, much to Ren's chagrin. No doubt this part of the city would need serious repairs when this is over.

 **-IIXII-**

"Good…for nothing…human," Adam coughed. He massaged his temples, all the while ignoring the loud sound of grenades going off nearby. He leaned his head back and began focusing his Aura on mending his injuries. That being said, his Aura was weak at the moment, but it was better than nothing, right?

However, the bull faunus flinched slightly when the sound of things blowing up got closer. He looked up, and was taken off-guard when Terumi came into view, who seemed to be running in his general direction.

Adam raised Blush and took aim, before squeezing the rifle's trigger repeatedly as if his life depended on it. This caught his target's attention, however, as one of the rounds were lucky enough to hit his left shoulder.

Terumi hissed in pain, and soon focused his serpentine eyes on his attacker. But when Adam entered his line of vision, a pissed off look took over his features. He enveloped his entire body in dark energy, and roared, **"I'll fucking murder you!"** The energy around him quickly took shape as a large serpent, and Terumi wasted no time in rushing his way towards the downed faunus with murderous intent.

"Tch…" In his terrible condition, Adam knew he couldn't move. All he could do now was hold his ground, but that didn't stop him from firing Blush at the large serpent.

It was the least he could do.

But then, his magazine went dry.

Adam quickly dropped his rifle and attempted to make a grab for his blade, which was slightly out of his reach. When doubt began filling his thoughts, a black blur zoomed in right in front of him, and soon after the sound of blades being locked was heard.

Adam was blinded for a moment, but after blinking his eyes a couple of times, he decided to take a good long look at his savior. Who met his eyes shocked him, and to make sure he wasn't just seeing things, Adam slowly went up to his feet with the help of his trusted blade, doing everything in his power to ignore the pain, and took a small step forward.

"Blake? Is that…really you?" he called out.

Blake decided to remain silent, despite all the things she wanted to say at this current moment. She attempted to push Terumi away with Gambol Shroud, but the man didn't even move an inch.

"You sure have the guts to block my attack, you little runt. Out of my way, lest you want your death to be extra painful," Terumi growled. He began to push her back with ease, but despite that, she wasn't one to back down without a fight that easily. "Persistent."

"Who are you?" Blake inquired. No signs of fear were present in her eyes, but she was fully aware that he could easily wipe the floor with her at any given moment. If Adam wasn't strong enough to overpower this man, then what could _she_ possibly do?

The man scoffed. "Figures. Other than my useless vessels, not even one person knows who I am in this pathetic world, nor do they know what I'm capable of."

Blake went wide-eyed at his words. "W-What do you mean? Who are you?"

Terumi grinned like a psychopath at the questions, and resisted the urge to laugh. He leaned forward, and humored her by answering, "Yuuki Terumi, at your service! Hehehe!"

"W-Wait, you're…" Blake stuttered.

She couldn't believe it.

The man she was currently talking to was the very same person who had ruined her friend's life. The one who made him go insane. The one who made him murder his one and only friend. The one who basically corrupted his mind and used him like he was some sort of puppet.

And most importantly, the one who she vowed to kill if she ever had the chance. Seems like the angels had answered her prayers.

"You…" Blake began, "You!"

"You know me?" Terumi lifted his eyebrows, somewhat surprised.

 **"I'll end you!"**

Blake jumped back without warning, catching her target off-guard. She took her position, and proceeded to create multiple shadow clones of herself around Terumi, trapping him in place. Without a second to waste, the faunus girl lunged forward with Gambol Shroud in her hands, and her shadow clones followed her example.

Terumi attempted to escape, but he ended up receiving painful slashes all across his body, and not to mention the shadow clones began exploding every time they got too close. He was blasted around at that, and was soon sent flying into a nearby street light, damaging the thing entirely.

"You bastards are lucky…I'm exhausted…" Terumi coughed. He went up to one knee, panting as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. "If not…I could easily…kill all of you…"

The sound of Gambol Shroud being loaded was heard, before the weapon was pointed behind the psychopath's head.

"Any last words?"

Before Terumi could come up with an insult, a certain scythe wielder interfered by planting her scythe in between him and Blake. Jaune and Pyrrha were also there, looking at Terumi with their shields raised in case if he had any funny ideas.

"Blake, what are you doing!?" Ruby yelled, "Don't kill him! We can just send him to the authorities and let them handle him!"

"Ruby," Blake began. She fixed the younger girl a cold stare. "Do you know who this is?"

"Well…um…no, but still! We can't just kill him! We're students for crying out loud!" she reasoned. "Blake, just please put your gun away."

"Beaten up…by a bunch of kids…ugh…a bunch of stupid brats…" Terumi muttered, but was simply ignored by the others.

In that moment, each and every one of Penny's blades took positions around the man. But not only that, even Ren and Nora had their weapons aimed at him, which earned a frustrated groan from Ruby.

"Guys! Put your weapons away!" she ordered. "That means you too, Penny." Ruby looked over at Penny, and can't help but smile when the girl came into view. "Good to see you again, by the way."

"Likewise," Penny nodded. She pulled her blades back, but made sure to have them pointed at the man's head as a precaution. "This man has been giving us trouble. I suggest we terminate him."

"Even you!?"

"Enough already!" Terumi roared. He quickly went up to his feet, which caused Blake to squeeze the trigger of her weapon in sheer instinct. She wanted to end it all by putting a bullet through his skull, but because of his attempt at getting up, she was able to get a clear shot on his back instead. And things didn't end there, as each and every one of Penny's blades came down on him, stabbing him from all sides. "Guh! Fuck!"

Ruby gasped at the gory sight, covering her mouth not too long after that.

"Whoa! Okay, even I think that's too far!" Nora exclaimed, lowering Magnhild. "I don't wanna end up in jail for murdering or anything."

"Y-Yeah, I agree with Nora on this," Jaune stated, earning a nervous nod from Pyrrha moments later. "I can never look at ketchup the same way again…"

"G-Guys," Ruby started, "I think he had enough and learned his lesson. We should stop this. Now."

"Yeah…" Terumi spat, "Listen to the little-" He was interrupted when a bunch of green barriers appeared and bound him in place, making him go through all sorts of pain. "This is…not…what I wanted…"

"Holy cow…" Yang said as she came in, along with Weiss who was at her side. The blonde averted her gaze away from the sight, and the heiress looked as if she was about to throw up. "This is just…well…wow…"

"I wasn't expecting this…" Weiss muttered to herself with her eyes closing, no doubt trying to get the gory image out of her head to avoid herself from hurling. "H-Happy thoughts. Just think about happy things…"

"Okay everyone, drop your weapons. I'll take it from here," Hazama announced as he strolled his way towards the group. Judging by the dark energy around his right hand, it's obvious that he was the one responsible for the green bindings. "I need to have a word with him. Before I kill him, that is."

"Professor!?" Ruby stared at the man in disbelief, and later focused her gaze on Kval. "Even you?"

"Well…" Kval avoided the girl's gaze with a nervous expression, all the while trying to come up with a good explanation. She was too young for this, but what better way to tell her than just go for the truth? She'll understand. Most probably.

He just hoped that she would take the news well. Terumi needed to be killed, now or never.

And with that, Kval opened his mouth to speak.

"Ouroboros!"

But was interrupted.

All of a sudden, a small portal appeared behind Kval.

The young vessel narrowed his eyes and jumped to the side when Ouroboros came out, as it flew straight in his direction. He was caught off-guard, however, when the chain followed him and bit into his right arm.

"Hehehe! Hahahaha! Die!"

A loud cracking noise could be heard, before it was quickly replaced with the sounds of flesh and bones being torn apart.

Everyone turned their heads to Kval, and the first thing they saw was the shocked expression which was displayed across his face. He was currently staring at something near his feet, eyes wide as saucers. Something that used to be his.

And that something, was his arm.

In an instant, Kval fell to his knees and held the spot where his arm was mere moments ago, screaming in utter pain as his blood began spilling down onto the ground.

"Kazuma!" Ruby called out, and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

Team JNPR immediately dropped their guard and ran towards their injured friend, along with Weiss and Yang. Ren remained stationed, however, eyes fixed on his injured friend while keeping StormFlower aimed at Terumi.

"Kazuma, we're coming!" Yang called out, but not before flashing the one responsible for her friend's injury a death glare. "I'll make sure to murder your ass!"

"Do your best! Hehehe!" Terumi responded.

Winter came to Kval's side and attempted to seal the wound with her glyph healing abilities, but with what little energy she had left, it was impossible. She grunted, and quickly tore apart a piece of her clothing before proceeding to wrap it around the boy's injury in order to stop the bleeding.

"How'd that felt!? Hahaha! That must've been-"

Countless of shots rang out, all of which coming from Blake's weapon.

"Guh! Hehehe…ugh! T-This is it!" Terumi laughed, despite all the pain he was currently going through. "The look on your faces…hahaha!"

"Shut up!" Blake roared. She began shooting his back with her gun repeatedly, but as it went dry, she was baffled to see him _still_ laughing. Even then, Blake dropped the sidearm to the ground and proceeded to stab the man with her oversized cleaver. "You bastard!"

"Gah!" Terumi coughed up a lot of blood, but even then he continued to laugh, much to the girl's annoyance. "I-Is that…all you got? Hehehe!" His eyes grew wide when each and every blade around his body began digging in deeper into his flesh. "Fuck!"

"You fiend…"

Blake pulled her cleaver out of Terumi's back, ignoring the insult he threw at her, and proceeded to land her gaze on Penny. The faunus girl was taken aback when she got a good look at her eyes. Instead of them being green, as they usually were, they were bright red in color.

"You hurt my friend," the girl said with slight anger in her usually calm voice, "I think it's time we end our little game."

 **"I think not!"** the psychopath declared as he activated his Overdrive.

"No other choice then." Ren took a few steps back and fired a few rounds with StormFlower, despite knowing that the man didn't have Aura. However, he was perplexed when said man didn't show any signs of pain. Was he seriously ignoring all the pain just so he could free himself?

Suddenly, a serpent appeared beside him, but thanks to his quick reflexes, Ren managed to avoid the thing from slamming into his side. But just as he thought that the coast was clear, another one appeared, which slammed into his back before he could even react. Ren grunted as he fell onto the hard ground, groaning in pain.

"That…was a bit unexpected."

"Behave you little shit!" Hazama growled. He focused on the bindings in order to keep his target in place, but clicked his tongue in annoyance when Terumi tore them apart with ease, despite all the injuries he sustained. "Son of a-"

 **"Hyahaha! That's right! Keep on hating me you sack of shits!"** Terumi laughed. He pulled one of the blades out of his gut, before lifting his eyebrows when he took notice of the wire cable attached to said blade. In fact, all of them had wire cables attached.

Which led to Penny.

Despite knowing how painful it was, Terumi decided to pull the cables with all the strength he could muster, which made Penny stumble her way towards him.

"Tch!" Hazama prepared his knives and was about to go for the killing blow, but Terumi quickly blocked the attack with Penny's blade, right before knocking him towards the synthetic being with a swift kick to the gut. The moment the two fell down onto the ground, Terumi began pulling all the blades out of himself, with a little help from Ouroboros of course.

 **"That's better."**

A couple of shots rang through the air.

 **"Gah!"** Terumi grunted when he felt pain in his back, turning himself around soon after in order to glare at his attacker. But what met his eyes made him snarl. **"You good for nothing bastards just don't know when to quit!"**

Adam and Blake stood there side by side, with their guns aimed directly at him. Despite that, they still didn't feel comfortable in each other's presence.

"I hope you're willing to talk once this is over," Adam muttered.

"Now is not the time," Blake hissed.

Adam nodded, then focused his eyes on Terumi. "Just like old times…"

In an instant, the two pulled the triggers of their respectful weapons and began firing at the psychopath.

In his weakened state, Terumi had no other choice but to stand his ground and use his serpents to protect himself. He took out a knife and threw it at Blake, as it was an attempt to at least take one of them down, only for it to be deflected by Adam's blade.

"Tch!" Tossing the duo a large serpent, Terumi lunged forward to engage them in CQC, but was shocked when something slammed into him from the side. He turned his head to see what it was, but turned out, it was actually _someone_.

In that exact moment, yellow met red.

"Prepare to be eliminated."

 **-IIXII-**

"Are you going to be okay?" Weiss asked, no doubt feeling concerned for her friend's well-being. The heiress watched as Winter did all she could to treat Kval's injury, and the sight made her want to help as well. Though, she'll probably just get in the way instead of helping.

"I'm…I'm losing a lot of blood…" Kval muttered. "I-I don't know. M-Maybe?"

"Stay still," Winter advised, "If you keep moving, it'll be harder for me."

"Can I help? I may not be that much help, but I know a thing or two when it comes to treating something like this," Jaune proclaimed somewhat nervously, but then smiled slightly when Winter gave him a quick nod. "Thank you. I'll do my best."

Yang gave Kval a supporting pat on the shoulder, and said, "Stay strong, Kazuma. We're here for you."

"T-Thanks…"

"Kazuma, lay yourself down for a bit," Jaune instructed. He pushed the young vessel gently down onto the ground, smiling soon after. "That's better. This might hurt, so do everything you can to stay still."

"I…I've been worst," Kval replied, albeit weakly.

"Wait, where's Ruby?" Nora asked, all the while looking around the area in order to find the young reaper.

"There…she is," Pyrrha said, feeling a bit uncertain for some reason.

The little reaper was currently walking her way towards the fight, dragging Crescent Rose along the ground while doing so. And for some odd reason, she seemed unusually quiet.

"Ruby?" Yang called out, "That guy's dangerous! Get back here!"

Upon hearing this, Ruby slowly turned her head around, which caused most of the others to gasp out loud. Silence filled the air, and when no one seemed like they were going to talk, she decided to resume her walking.

"What?" was all Yang could say, eyes wide as saucers.

 **-IIXII-**

Ren rushed in and attempted to jab Terumi's unprotected back with his palm, only for Hazama to be thrown in his direction. Because of this, he had no other choice but to cancel his attack in order to catch the professor.

"That was close." Hazama gave a sigh of relief, giving Ren a quick nod as thanks shortly after.

"No problem," Ren said.

Just when Hazama was about to say something in return, a bright red beam could be seen blasting its way towards Terumi, only for the man to evade said beam and lock his butterfly knives with Adam's blade.

Penny, who was responsible for the beam, prepared all her blades and zoomed in towards the madman. Blake could also be seen in the distance, rushing in with multiple shadow clones of herself.

"It seems that we're not needed," Ren suddenly said as he eyed the battle. "With Blake's Semblance, and not to mention the other girl's blades, I don't think he can handle them all at once. We should go."

"I think it would be better if you were to join the others back there," Hazama advised, "I can't have you kids running around while I work, now can I?"

"Professor, I don't think that's the best course of action," Ren argued with a shake of his head. "I know you're more experienced than us, but I-"

"Move," a new, familiar voice demanded.

Ren and Hazama turned their heads around, and the sight which greeted their eyes shocked them immensely. Without a word, the two stepped aside, allowing the young girl to pass through as she dragged her large scythe along the ground.

 **-IIXII-**

Multiple shadow clones came in from all sides, and Terumi was forced to take them out one by one with Ouroboros. Those annoying little pests could blow up upon contact, and he definitely wasn't going to take the chance and charge in like a complete moron. He wasn't trying to raise his own ass or anything, but he was an expert when it came to wielding his Nox Nyctores, so those clones were as good as dead.

 **"Keep 'em coming! Hahaha!"** Terumi proceeded to brutally tear apart a shadow clone's head with Ouroboros, which soon exploded, before doing the same thing with the one behind him. He panted, taking a short moment to catch his breath, but was then forced to move when Blake and Adam came rushing out of the smoke with their weapons drawn.

He snarled, before sensing someone, Penny most probably, coming in from behind. The man smirked as a plan formed inside his mind. At the very last second, Terumi used Ouroboros to pull himself towards a nearby street light, which caused Penny, who didn't expect the sudden move, to slam herself right into Adam. Before the two even had a chance to pick themselves up from the ground, Ouroboros came out of nowhere and coiled them up together.

"Dammit!" Adam cursed as he tried to wriggle himself out of this tight situation, to no avail.

Instead of struggling, Penny had a better idea. She positioned her blades around Adam and herself in order to destroy the chain which held them captive.

But too bad Terumi sent them both crashing through a nearby building's second floor window.

Blake accidentally lowered her guard for a brief moment at the turn of events, which turned out to be the biggest mistake she'd ever done.

 **"Got your leg!"** Terumi exclaimed as he swept the cat faunus off her feet with his right leg, dropping her to the ground. **"Garengki!"** He proceeded to repeatedly stomp on Blake's head over and over again, taking sick pleasure in watching the pained look painted across her face. **"Hyahaha! I hope you're enjoying this like I am, you little good for nothing rotten shit!"** And with this, Terumi raised his foot up high, grinning wickedly. **"And this is the part where I crush your skull!"**

A shot rang through the air, and it sounded all too familiar to Blake's ears. Assuming that it was now safe to move, the girl slowly looked up, just in time for her to see the pained look across her tormentor's face.

 **"Ugh** … **"** Terumi grunted, all the while clutching at his gut in utter pain. He gritted his teeth and looked to where the shot came from, but believe it or not, the sight which met his eyes froze him in place.

 **"W-What?"** he stuttered, shocked. **"This is impossible. I** … **I killed all of them. How come there's another one!?"**

Blake turned her head to where the man was looking, and she too was shocked. The girl let out a loud gasp, feeling unsure if she should believe her eyes.

Walking towards them was none other than Ruby Rose. The young girl had Crescent Rose, which was in its sniper form, held up with only an arm. She kept it aimed directly at Terumi the entire time, thus making it look as if it weigh nothing. The little reaper had tears leaking from her eyes, but her silver orbs were what truly caught their attention.

They were glowing.

 **"Wait a minute** … **I know that face,"** Terumi began. He peered at her from underneath his hood, but then his eyes widened a bit when realization came crashing down on him. **"That face,"** he growled, **"Why the hell do you have her face?"**

Ruby kept on walking, ignoring him.

 **"Answer me!"**

She squeezed the trigger of her weapon, successfully hitting the man's right shoulder.

 **"Guh** … **I'm** … **going to ask** … **one more time** … **you little** … **brat,"** Terumi snarled, clutching at his wound in order to prevent too much blood from spilling out. Not that he cared at this point.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ruby finally answered. She then transformed Crescent Rose into its scythe form when the man was within range, gripping it tightly until her knuckles went white.

 **"Lies!"** Terumi roared, **"Why the hell do you look like Summer Rose!?"**

Ruby stopped.

Yang gasped.

Everyone else went silent.

An eerie silence filled the cold air, if only for a brief moment.

Then, all hell broke loose.

"How do you know my mother's name!?" Ruby shouted at the top of her lungs, right before charging towards Terumi in blind rage. She wanted answers, and if that meant going all berserk on a total stranger, then so be it.

 **"Mother!?"** Terumi repeated in utter shock, all the while engulfing his entire body in dark energy, as he planned on wielding the Dark Susano'o once more. With Blake now forgotten, he quickly created a long blade and took a few steps back, no doubt going on the defensive.

"Answer my question!" Ruby shouted.

 **-IIXII-**

Yang stared at her little sister and, without herself knowing, activated Ember Celica. "Oh no," the blonde muttered when realization dawned on her, eyes widening.

If there's a lead to information of Summer's mysterious death, then Ruby would no doubt start searching for answers. Yang knew what it was like, since she too was searching for her missing mother, and that almost got Ruby and herself killed once. She sure as hell didn't want the same thing to happen twice.

Yang needed to do something about this.

"K-Kazuma? What on Remnant are you-" Yang heard Jaune stutter somewhere behind her. Curiosity got the better of her, so she turned herself around to check what was up.

Her eyes grew wide.

"I need…to protect…Ruby."

 **-IIXII-**

 **Well, shit just got real. I think I went a bit too extreme with this one, but sacrifices has to be made.**

 **Now, time for the questions.**

 **Where on Remnant is Monty? What is Relius up to? Are the readers going to kill me? But the real question of the day is...what kind of connection does Terumi has with Summer? And how does he know about the legendary Silver-Eyed Warriors?**

 **Well, you all will have to wait for those answers.**

 **By the way, sorry if I did bad on Kval's first encounter with Terumi. I tried really hard on that part, but unfortunately, I simply settled for Terumi being all calm and professional, while Kval being all silent and angry in the end. Kval is a smart guy, and the same goes for Terumi, so it was the best I could come up with. My sincere apologies to any readers who find it to be...somewhat lacking.**

 **Anyway, thanks again for all the support! If you guys have any ideas that you want to share or suggest, then I'm listening. See you all in Phase 34!**

 **Peace out!**


	34. Phase 34

**Welcome to Phase 34 of Still Alive!**

 **My special thanks goes to moki0316 for his amazing review, and also for moving my lazy ass. If it weren't for him, Still Alive would've been updated later, rather than sooner. By the way, moki0316, the funny thing is...I already had a role for Summer Rose before I even read your story. But still, your stories had given me more cool ideas, so thanks for that!**

 **Also, thanks for all the support! Each and every one of you readers are awesome! I also started a new story, which is called Life Of An Author, a place where I can add bits and pieces of my story updates. But mostly, I just do it because it's fun. Go check it out, and if you have any ideas, be sure to suggest! I'm all ears!**

 **Well, time for you all to read I guess.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

* * *

How could this happen?

How could have she been so careless?

She was the one who should've taken that blow, not him.

The fight she had with that psychopath was one of, if not _the_ most, intense battle she has ever had in her entire life. The Breach was nothing compared to it, heck it wasn't even close.

She knew she was outclassed, but instincts had told her to keep on fighting.

And so she did.

But in the midst of battle, the little reaper had made a slight mistake and lost her footing, and she was _this_ close to dying. That long blade could have cleaved her in half right then and there.

Could have.

But as fate would have it, he came in and took the blow for her.

Ruby was simply torn, and not to mention exhausted. That power of hers had drained most of her energy, and she didn't even know what it was to begin with. Hell, how did she activated the damn thing in the first place?

Too many questions, and so little answers. But one thing has been bugging her mind lately.

The one thing she was dying to know.

What sort of connection does that wretched man has with her deceased mother?

Ruby gasped before she could think of anything else however, when the hand she currently held gave hers a gentle squeeze. The girl looked down at him, and the moment she saw that weak smile of his, tears began to leak from her eyes.

"This is all my fault," she whispered, and no one else but him heard her. "I-If only I hadn't charged in there in blind rage, this would've never-"

"Stop…apologizing."

"But-"

"The moment…I saw…that look on your face…I knew what went through your mind," Kval managed to say, "Besides, I'd rather die…than watch you take _another_ blow…from that man."

Hearing this, her free hand began trailing down to where the bandages were. She considered herself lucky to have an Aura.

"But you got hurt…" she sniffled.

"And you made it out without any serious injuries," he grinned.

"But…" her shoulders shook as she silently cried, "…y-you'll end up in the infirmary again. I-I'm…I'm so sorry…"

The boy closed his eyes and slowly pulled his hand away from the reaper's, before he gave Ruby a weak chop on the head, which caught her completely by surprise.

"Idiot…Ruby…" he chuckled, "It's not your fault. Now, if you'll excuse…me…I'm going…to take a quick nap."

"H-Huh?" Ruby looked to him, worried.

"Just…a quick nap," he coughed out, "And tell Yang…I said thanks…for saving my butt back there…"

Ruby took a second to stare at him as he dozed off, before finally wiping her tears away.

"Will do…"

No one else besides Kval was with her now, but not until Yang came in. The blonde brawler had been busy chewing the pilots' ears out for the past few minutes. They simply needed to head back to Beacon, and fast.

Kval's life was on the line.

"He said thanks," Ruby suddenly said, her gaze not leaving Kval's face.

Yang stared at the ground, then simply nodded as a reply. She looked to the bandages that were wrapped around the boy's major injury, and asked, "How's he holding up?"

"Okay," was all the reaper answered with.

Yang sighed.

The others were insistent that she were to take both Ruby and Kval back to Beacon for medical attention, since the two were the only ones who had it worst in the fight. Which also of course, explained the lack of people inside the small aircraft.

Even so, Yang can't help but feel relieved for the fact that her little sister was alive. That asshole was powerful, and even a complete idiot would know. But still, seeing Ruby going all-out on said asshole and giving him a hard time was not what she expected.

Yang was more than proud of her little sister, but now wasn't really the best time to congratulate her on that. The blonde had other things to worry about.

"Thanks for saving him Yang," Ruby whispered, as she began to silently cry beside Kval's unconscious body.

"No need for that, Ruby." Yang gave her sister a small grin, which soon faded a few seconds later as she fixed her eyes on Kval, or more specifically, his injury. "I'm just glad I made it in time. If I hadn't…"

Yang shuddered at the memory. She remembered how it all went down just perfectly.

* * *

 _Kval fell to the hard ground when the blade was brought down, and he could clearly hear the loud gasp coming from Ruby. No doubt she was shocked. In fact, he could even hear Blake calling out his name in the distance. But did he care?_

 _No, he didn't._

 _Because he just couldn't afford to lose anyone else._

 _"Not this time_ … _Terumi," the young vessel spat as he glared up at the bastard who had ruined his life. "I won't_ … _let you_ … _take anyone else."_

 _ **"Anyone else? You mean like a fucking loved one?"**_ _snarled the Dark Susano'o, and he wasted no time in raising his foot up high._ _ **"I have had enough of your shit! I don't know how you escaped the Boundary, but now, I want you to do me a solid**_ … _ **and fucking stay dead!"**_

 _"Not on my watch!" Yang roared as she propelled herself towards the Dark Susano'o, right before successfully landing a powerful punch on the side of the bastard's head._

* * *

"I guess a single punch to the face was enough to distract him," Yang muttered.

A loud thud could be heard, and Yang immediately turned to the source of the sudden noise, only to see Ruby unconscious with her head resting comfortably on Kval's chest. She looked peaceful.

Yang simply stood there for a few seconds, before a small smile graced her lips.

"She must be tired."

* * *

"Tsubaki, you're going to kill me at this rate," Jin whispered, smiling all the while. "Could you just-"

"I can't help it! I'm just glad I found you!" said the red-haired girl, as she was currently hugging Jin as if her life depended on it. "I-I was scared…that you…"

Jin began to stroke Tsubaki's hair as she cried on his shoulder, but then sent a sharp glare at the Black Knight when the man gave him a knowing grin. He wanted to flip the bird at that perverted bastard so badly right now.

"Ozpin, I demand an explanation," James said to his comrade, narrowing his eyes as he asked, "Who are these people?"

"I…guess it's time I start explaining myself," Ozpin muttered, moving his gaze down at his feet. He gave a short sigh, before looking at James dead in the eyes, "These people…are not from our world."

"What?"

"I-It's true," Noel stuttered with a nervous smile, flinching when the general's gaze landed on her. "Eep!"

"Is this a joke?" he growled, clearly not buying it.

Makoto quickly came in and stood in front of Noel, looking at the general with a casual grin. "This is no joke, so stop glaring at my friend, will you?" That grin of hers was then replaced with a dangerous look, as she muttered, "Or else I'm gonna beat you to a pulp."

"What was that?" James said as he began to reach for his sidearm.

"W-What she meant to say was that uh…" Kagura stuttered, "…yeah…we're not actually from around here, and I would really appreciate it if you'd stop glaring at us."

"Told you," Ozpin said suddenly, smiling.

"Ozpin, I swear-"

"James, could you just do us all a favor and behave yourself?" Glynda told him with a deep scowl, "You're being nothing more but a child, and it'd be more helpful if you were to start acting like an adult right now."

The general merely scoffed at that, dropping his hand back to his side shortly after. He then began to observe the newcomers with a cautious look, especially the one with the bushy squirrel tail. James was never good when it came to interacting with a faunus, but it wasn't his fault he had to deal with a load of crap from the White Fang for the past few years.

Makoto noticed this however, which made her scowl.

"What are you looking at?"

"Makoto, now's not the time to start fights with people. We don't want to start any trouble now, would we?" Kagura quickly said as he stepped in before the situation could get any worst, placing a hand on the beastkin's shoulder. Giving her a nervous smile, he then redirected his gaze towards the general, saying, "Sir, I'd _really_ appreciate it if you'd stop looking at my friend here as if she's some sort of terrorist. Come on, we're all friends here."

"My apologies, young man. It's just that I'm not comfortable when I'm in the same room with a faunus," James stated, which earned him a couple of disapproving looks from Glynda and Ozpin, and a bunch of confused ones from the others.

"Care to explain what a faunus is?" Makoto asked with genuine curiosity.

"Pardon?" James asked back with a raised brow, perplexed.

"What's a faunus?" Noel repeated her friend's question, feeling somewhat curious as well.

The general furrowed his brows and began to scratch the back of his head in utter confusion, but then pointed his finger at Makoto. "Isn't she a faunus?" he asked.

"What? I'm no faunus," Makoto said as she placed her hands on her hips, frowning, "I'm a beastkin."

"A…beastkin?" James repeated the word, unsure if it was real to begin with. The man then turned to Ozpin for answers, but was slightly surprised when he saw the small smirk across the man's lips.

"Interesting," the headmaster muttered to no one in particular.

* * *

Velvet hummed a happy tune as she walked around in Beacon's courtyard. The timid girl fished out her scroll from her pocket and checked the time, before smiling to herself.

"Won't be long now," she said.

However, the faunus girl can't help but let out a cute squeak when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Velvet whirled herself around with a huge blush on her face, but the moment she saw who it was, a scowl made its sudden appearance.

"What do you want?" she lowly growled.

The person who she was glaring at was a member of Team CRDL. If she remembered correctly, the boy's name was Dove Bronzewing.

"I'm not here to torment you, or anything of the sort. Well, not anymore anyway," Dove told Velvet, much to her confusion. Before she could even begin to question what this was about, the boy held out a small box towards her. "Here."

"W-What?" Velvet asked, dumbfounded. After a second of staring at the box, she narrowed her eyes, then glared at him, "Is this a prank?"

"There's a bunch of sweets inside," Dove started, "And they're for you."

"What?" Velvet asked once more, confused more than ever. "But I thought you and your team hated me. Why the change of heart all of a sudden?"

"These are from me, actually. My team still hates you though," the boy said with a shrug. "Take it."

Velvet slowly reached out for the box, then gently took it from the younger boy's hand.

"You…still haven't answered my question," she muttered with her eyes fixed on the small gift.

Dove remained silent for a while, looking to the side with his left hand behind his neck. If Velvet was paying attention right now, she could clearly see how uncomfortable he was of answering her question.

"I…had a talk with Kazuma after that incident involving his first match with Cardin."

"You…had a talk with Kazuma?" she repeated the boy's words with a tilt of her head. "About what?"

"How to make things better," he muttered.

"Huh?"

Dove gave a short sigh.

"Well, thinking about it now, I feel really bad for doing all those terrible things to you in the past, I really do. It…must've hurt." He then quickly cleared his throat. "So, I came here and wanted to apologize for my actions…and all that," he mumbled, out of pure shyness of course. "T-To simply put it, I want to change myself. Nothing more, nothing less. Just that."

"What…what of your teammates? Did you tell any of them about this?" Velvet asked, frowning a bit.

"I did, and they ended up kicking me out," Dove shrugged, "Not big of a deal."

"I'm…very sorry to hear that," Velvet apologized as her rabbit ears began to droop, but then smiled slightly and said, "Thanks for the gift though. It's sweet."

"N-No problem. By the way," he quickly added, successfully changing the subject, "what are you doing out here all alone in the courtyard?"

"Oh, I'm waiting for Professor Hazama, along with Kazuma, Team RWBY, and Team JNPR. They were sent out on a mission nearly an hour ago, if I recalled correctly," she explained with a huge grin.

"Professor Hazama? Who's that?" Dove inquired as he furrowed his eyebrows, "I've never seen him before, nor have I heard of him."

"He's new," Velvet simply answered, "Came here just yesterday."

Before Dove could even start asking more questions about who this new professor was, Velvet began to jump excitedly when something caught her eyes.

"They're here!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger at the Bullhead in the distance. The small aircraft began to lower itself down as it reached the pier, right before opening its hatch. Without waiting for anything else, the rabbit faunus decided to make her way towards the Bullhead to greet her friends.

But what met her eyes was definitely _not_ what she expected.

"Out of the way Velvet!"

Before Velvet knew anything else, a certain blonde leaped her way out of the Bullhead with _both_ Ruby and Kval on her shoulders, who were unconscious.

"Whoa!" Dove exclaimed.

"Yang!?" Velvet called out.

The girl closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, before she ran past Dove without warning.

"What happened to Kazuma and Ruby? And more importantly, what happened to his arm!?" Velvet yelled as she decided to chase the blonde, followed by Dove who was somewhere behind her. "And where are the others!?"

"I'll tell you all about it later!" Yang quickly answered without looking back, "Right now, these two need some serious medical attention!"

* * *

"Y'see, we beastkins are-" Makoto tried to explain, but was cut off when Ozpin's scroll, which was somewhere on his desk, started vibrating. The squirrel beastkin stared at the scroll for a few moments, along with the others, before looking at Ozpin, "You gonna pick that up or what?"

"My apologies," the headmaster chuckled as he went to get his scroll. The white-haired man opened the small device, and can't help but raise an eyebrow when Monty came into view. His clothes were a bit tattered from what Ozpin could see, and was that blood on his forehead?

"Monty? What-"

"Some of your students had just arrived in Beacon, and they need medical attention right now! Go send in a medical team!" Without waiting for Ozpin's reply, the professional Huntsman ended the call. Thus, leaving the room in complete silence.

Also, Ozpin could've sworn he saw something moving around in the background.

"Ozpin?" Glynda called out.

The man stood there in silence, slowly lowering his scroll to his desk, before slowly saying, "Glynda, I want you to go get Medical Team B4. Tell them to get to the pier as soon as possible, and I want _you_ to accompany them along the way, while you're at it. Do I make myself clear?"

"But-" Glynda started.

Ozpin slammed his hands on his desk with his back turned to everyone, shocking them.

"Now!"

Without another word, Glynda ran towards the door, entering the elevator shortly after. In all her life, she had only _rarely_ heard Ozpin raise his voice, and when he did, the situation tended to be more serious than she would think.

And she'd just hope that the situation wasn't too serious this time.

Back in the office, Ozpin could be seen standing at his desk in silence, with his back still turned to everyone. After a few moments however, the man gave a sigh, removed his hands from his desk, then finally decided to turn himself around.

"My apologies, but something urgent had just came up," muttered the headmaster, "I have to go."

"Ozpin, what's going on?" James asked, flinching in surprise when a sour look was sent his way.

"Nothing that concerns you, James."

Kagura looked to Jin with a raised brow, and saw him nod. Turning towards the headmaster, the young man asked, "I know it's none of our business, but do you need any help with anything? I mean, if you're comfortable with the idea."

Now that caught Ozpin's full attention.

"You want…to help?" he asked.

Tsubaki slowly pulled herself away from Jin to face the headmaster, and smiled as she told him, "I-It's the least we could do for being cooperative with us. We don't mind staying to help out a bit."

"I see," Ozpin muttered as he stared into space. "In that case, I want all of you to follow me. That means you too, James."

"Looks like I don't have so much of a choice," the general said with his eyes closed, adding, "So be it. Lead the way, Ozpin."

"Right this way then."

"My apologies for asking, b-but where are we going?" Noel asked suddenly as she and the rest of them followed the headmaster to the elevator.

"I just want to know the damages."

* * *

"I…can still…fight."

Blake groaned painfully while she was holding her gut, right before collapsing herself down to the ground, unconscious.

"Just give up already!" Nora groaned as she glared at the Dark Susano'o, "We all know you're exhausted!"

 **"I only have two words for you,"** Terumi growled.

"And what's that?" Nora inquired, "I forfeit? I stink? Come on, spit it out!"

 **"Fuck you."**

"That's it!"

Ren simply watched Nora as she charged forward, before fixing his gaze on his leader.

"Nora won't be able to hold out for much longer if this keeps up. Blake's down, Weiss and her sister are heavily injured, the other two are still missing, and I don't even know where Professor Hazama ran off to, so it's just us. What's the plan?"

"I'm still thinking…" Jaune muttered.

Pyrrha went silent as she began to think as well, then smiled suddenly when an idea crossed her mind. The polite girl can't help but shake her head and sigh softly.

How could she forget?

"Jaune, why not we just try… _that_?" Pyrrha suggested, successfully gaining the attention of the two boys. "Well?"

"That? What do you-" Jaune's eyes slowly went wide when he understood what his partner had meant. The boy slowly nodded, muttering, "Oh, you mean _that_."

Pyrrha giggled at his cute expression.

"Whatever _that_ is," Ren interrupted, "we might as well try it now. It seems to me that Nora's getting tired."

"Right on it!" Jaune nodded, grinning confidently for some reason. "Pyrrha, you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," the girl replied with a grin of her own.

"And me?" Ren inquired, raising an eyebrow as he did.

The two partners looked to one another for a brief moment, before they started chuckling.

"Stay," they said in unison.

Ren's eyes widened a bit at this, but then a small smile suddenly made its way up his face.

"I'd like that."

Exhausted as he was, Terumi still managed to dodge each and every single swing that came from Nora, and for the very first time since the fight had started, she was getting tired.

And annoyed.

"Stay still!" roared Nora. She quickly swung her large weapon in a wide arc, only for her opponent to jump up into the air to avoid the attack.

Figuring that the Dark Susano'o would take too much of his energy if he kept using it, Terumi decided to just fight like how he usually does, if only for the moment.

Besides, it was getting kinda hot in there.

This sudden action caught Nora by surprise however, and the madman wasted no time in diving down with four sharp knives in each hand.

"I'll gut you up!" he grinned maliciously.

Nora gave him a challenging look as he dived down towards her, then immediately transformed her weapon into its grenade launcher form. She quickly took aim and squeezed the trigger.

"Eat dust!"

The explosive round soared through the air, and Terumi was too caught off-guard to react fast enough. Thus, he was unable to block or evade it in time. And with that the annoying asshole was blasted out of the air, before crashing down on the top of a nearby car.

"Haha! Beat that you crazy lunatic!" laughed Nora.

"I…must be losing my edge," the man muttered in utter pain, before he slowly sat himself up. "Guess it's time I leave. These annoying little brats aren't really worth my time anyway."

Nora came jumping out of the smoke with Magnhild raised up high before he knew it, and this time _she_ was the one who was grinning maliciously. Terumi proceeded to roll down the damaged vehicle to avoid himself from turning into a bloody pancake, and can't help but wince when he saw what the annoying brat did to the car he was on mere moments ago.

"You're fucking something…I'll tell you that." He slowly went back up on his feet, his eyes never leaving hers the entire time. "But unfortunately…I gotta run. Later!"

Nora was surprised at this, so she quickly transformed Magnhild into its grenade launcher form and took aim, but she prevented her finger from squeezing the trigger when her fearless leader could be seen in the distance, who was closely followed by his partner.

She grinned and shrugged, "Well, I guess I'm not needed then."

"I'll definitely add that brat to my kill list!" Terumi growled as he ran. That annoying little brat was lucky he was heavily injured and exhausted. If not, he could've easily torn her to shreds and fed her brains to Ouroboros. "Next time…"

But still, when's the last time he had trouble when it came to fighting? Sure, the Black Beast was something that even Terumi himself couldn't handle alone, so he was fine with that. But being pushed around by some kids with fancy weapons that could transform into some other kind of metal crap? Now _that_ was definitely _not_ fine with him. Not at all.

Too bad he was currently out of shape.

Not to mention that he needed to take some time to think and sort out a few things later on. Mainly that little girl with silver eyes who he had fought with earlier.

She's Summer's daughter, and there's no doubt about it. But he just still couldn't believe it.

That woman was supposed to be dead.

 _"T-Terumi, I know_ … _d-deep down inside of you_ … _that_ _you're afraid. Y-You just can't find it in yourself_ … _t_ _o do it. T-That expression of yours_ … _explains a whole lot, y'know?"_

Terumi gritted his teeth at the unwanted memory and kept on running, but was snapped back to reality when he heard a shout.

"Arkos!"

"Huh?" Terumi looked up, and went wide-eyed when Pyrrha came into view, and she was now dangerously close. Without thinking, he went in and swung his knives at the girl in hopes of getting her to back away, but instead she jumped over him, which greatly surprised him.

Pyrrha, as she was currently in the air, proceeded to throw her shield at the man's unprotected back, successfully knocking him forward. Before Terumi could even recover himself though, Jaune quickly came in and slammed his own shield into the man's face, and then attempted to sweep him off his feet.

Only for Terumi's right leg to kick him in the chin as a result.

"Ain't gonna happen buddy!"

"L-Looks like I still need to work on that part…" Jaune grunted as he staggered back, holding his chin in pain.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out in the distance. Thinking quickly, she then threw her shield, which had returned itself to her just mere seconds ago, at the man's unprotected back once more, only for him to catch the annoying thing with his left hand. "Oh no…"

Terumi growled, "I have had enough of-"

 **"Mizuchi Rekkazan!"**

The shield was dropped to the cold ground as green bindings appeared around Terumi, which trapped him in place. He grunted when he felt pain coming from his back, and before he knew it, he was pulled backwards.

"Crap!" he cursed.

 **"What's the matter, Terumi? Are you losing your edge?"** Hazama taunted as Ouroboros was pulled back into his sleeve, and he proceeded to slash Terumi countless of times with his butterfly knives. His movements were so smooth and graceful, that even Jaune and the others began to wonder if this man could dance. Ren didn't know why, but he kind of felt jealous all of a sudden. **"Aren't you having fun? Come on, I'm not even done yet!"** He laughed, and decided to end his attack by summoning three large serpents, before bringing them down on Terumi. **"That must've hurt! Hehehe!"**

The others watched Hazama in awe, as he kept his knives back in his pockets. The man then could be seen cupping his chin with a small smirk, before he gave a chuckle.

"That's weird. Normally you'd get back up and fight like a wild animal, but it seems to me that you ran out of juice there, buddy. Are you feeling well? Catching some sort of fever, perhaps?"

One of his fingers twitched.

"Oh, what's this?" Hazama raised an eyebrow, "Still have some fight left in you? I'm impressed."

Terumi groaned, and attempted to push himself up, but fell back down to the ground when his arms failed him. With no ideas in mind, he simply settled for crawling away instead, earning an amused look from Hazama.

"Fuck it…" he muttered.

Terumi just needed to get away and heal himself up, because he was at his very limit. Staying any longer would mean that he'd die, and he clearly didn't want that.

"You're not getting away this time, you snake," Hazama called out as he walked towards the downed maniac, flipping a knife open as he chuckled, "We have a _lot_ to talk about."

"Just go screw yourself already, you pathetic vessel," Terumi grumbled, then stopped his crawling to catch his breathing, before noticing something slowly drifting down in front of his face. Something small.

And white.

His eyes were widened in complete shock.

"A white…r-rose petal?"

Hazama tilted his head slightly in confusion when he took notice of Terumi's odd behavior, but before he knew anything else, he was blinded by a bright light.

And Terumi was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

No one dared to speak as they followed Ozpin. The man wasn't himself, and even Jin was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable by this.

They'd been walking for nearly twenty minutes now, and the silence was finally starting to make them feel uneasy. It sure as hell was unsettling.

Unbeknownst to every single one of them however, there were a lot of things currently occupying Ozpin's mind. He never really liked sharing his thoughts in times like these with others, so he just simply kept them all to himself.

"I'm starting to feel uncomfortable," Makoto stated with a somewhat sheepish grin, making the others wince unintentionally. "Sorry, but I don't really like the silence all that much."

"Makoto!" Tsubaki loudly whispered to her beastkin friend, then pouted when a nervous look was sent her way.

"M-My bad," Makoto nervously laughed.

Ozpin smiled. The man was glad that he wasn't alone. It's better to just talk to them to get his mind off things, rather than proceeding to give himself a minor headache. He just had a bad habit of thinking too hard, but it wasn't his fault that he had enemy spies in his academy. Trying to predict their every move for each passing day was a huge pain in the ass.

"I apologize for my sudden change in behavior, ladies. I'm just currently worried for the safety of my students is all," he explained, walking all the while.

Honestly, did he made a mistake? Was sending his students out there the wrong thing to do?

Only time will tell.

Kagura looked to the headmaster somewhat curiously, "Hmm? Is that so? Also, forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Kagura Mutsuki." The young man grinned, then turned to all his friends, excluding Jin, and told them, "Girls, why don't you go introduce yourselves?"

"R-Right," Noel nodded, before she gave Ozpin and Ironwood a salute, "Lieutenant Noel Vermillion, at your service! And before I forget, I would also like to deeply thank you for helping us with locating Major Kisaragi. We're really grateful for your cooperation." She smiled.

General Ironwood raised an eyebrow at this, and Jin merely scoffed.

"I'm Makoto. Makoto Nanaya," the girl with the squirrel tail said with enthusiasm, grinning widely as she giggled. "It's a pleasure!"

"I am Major Tsubaki Yayoi, and like what my friend Noel had said earlier, we're really grateful for your cooperation," Tsubaki smiled kindly at the two men.

"The pleasure's all mine," Ozpin said with a polite nod. "You can all just call me Professor Ozpin."

James cleared his throat, and decided to introduce himself as well.

"General James Ironwood, at your service. Forgive me for my rudeness, but I have a question that I'd like to ask you."

"Go ahead," Kagura shrugged.

James nodded, "I understand if the question is a bit too much, but in this…world of yours, the one that you all speak of, do each and every one of you belong to some kind of military? Honestly, I can't really say that I'm not interested."

Kagura and the others seemed hesitant to answer the general's question. Fortunately though, someone decided to answer it for them. Someone who they least expected.

"These people are probably working for the NOL," Ozpin chuckled, which earned him a bunch of shocked looks from the others, minus Jin and the general.

"What?" James gave his old comrade a questioning look.

"H-How do you…?" Tsubaki stuttered.

"Your friend had told me a few details about it," Ozpin explained without looking at them, as he was busy walking down the path that would lead them to the courtyard.

"Was it Major Kisaragi?" Noel asked.

Jin sighed, "It wasn't me."

"T-Then…who was it?" Kagura slowly inquired, "If it wasn't you, then who else?"

For the first time ever since they started walking, Ozpin stopped. He turned his head around, and slowly asked, "Do you know a man named…Hazama?"

Makoto simply stared at the headmaster with her mouth hung open, along with Kagura, Noel, and Tsubaki.

"You have got to be kidding me…"

"I'll tell you all about it later," Jin assured them, and he can't help the urge to shake his head.

* * *

 **And that's done with. I hope you readers enjoyed!**

 **Well, I wonder what kind of connection does Terumi has with Summer...**

 **Thanks for reading, and remember to stay safe out there.**

 **I'll see you all again later in Phase 35.**

 **CPL, over and out.**


	35. Phase 35

**I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

 _"Why are you so persistent?"_

 _He had asked her that very same question countless of times when they were done fighting one another. It bothered him how determined she was, despite the odds against her._

 _In his opinion, the young girl was too brave, stubborn, and not to mention foolish for her own good. If she kept up acting like this, then no doubt that she'd die someday._

 _But even so, she would always answer his question with her same old answer._

 _"B-Because_ … _I know that someday_ … _I'll be able to actually beat you in a fair fight."_

 _She laughed sheepishly._

 _"But unfortunately_ … _that won't be happening today_ … _or the rest of the week for that matter. I've reached my limit."_

 _Terumi buried his face in his hand and growled, "Do you even know what you're saying? Just look at yourself!"_

 _"W-What? I-I don't see anything wrong with-" she wanted to argue, but winced in complete pain when Terumi knocked her on the head with his fist. "Ow! T-That was totally uncalled for!"_

 _The man proceeded to raise his leg, before planting his foot on the wall she was currently leaning on, just beside her head. He wanted to shut her up, and it worked perfectly well for him._

 _"Do you even understand the situation you're in?" he asked with a sharp glare. "Because I don't think you do."_

 _"I do understand_ … _" she mumbled._

 _"Then why are you so obsessed with beating me in a fair fight instead of running away?" he inquired, "If I went all-out on you, I'd probably tear that pretty little ass of yours without so much of a problem."_

 _She blushed at his choice of words._

 _Terumi gave a short sigh, and muttered, "You actually think that you're strong enough to beat me? Just what in the name of hell are you trying to prove? Beating me in a fight won't be possible, I assure you. Do me a solid and stop being so stupid for once."_

 _That should do it. A bucket of cold reality to the face would no doubt make her cry, and he wouldn't give a shit if she did. He was cruel, a sadist, and a cold-hearted person, not to mention a bit insane, so why would he give a shit?_

 _"An expert fighter or not, you're still outclassed. I'll admit that your damn weapon gave me a hard time, but still, I managed to beat your ass without much problem. Besides, I've killed actual people in the past, and you seem too innocent and inexperienced."_

 _She'd cry, and he'd be the one to enjoy the sight to the fullest. Call him an asshole, but he certainly was._

 _She deserved this._

 _"And most importantly, I prefer to work alone rather than having someone else to drag me down, so just give up already," he scoffed. "You're weak, and nothing will ever change that."_

 _He slowly pulled his leg back and placed his foot on the ground, before shoving his hands inside his pockets. Terumi looked to the side._

 _And smirked._

 _He's going to enjoy this._

 _"P-Pervert_ …"

 _"Huh?"_

 _The killer immediately looked down at the girl, and was caught off-guard when he saw her._

 _She refused to meet his gaze, and her cheeks were bright pink. The girl had her arms wrapped around herself, looking as if she was naked and trying to cover her body from his eyes. She looked vulnerable._

 _"What_ … _the hell?" He clenched his fists in frustration, before gritting his teeth. His whole body began to shake from pure rage, but after a short while of silence, the man glared sharply at her and angrily yelled, "What the hell are you blushing for!? Just what in the world is wrong with that little head of yours!?"_

 _She winced._

 _That was it. This brat was beyond hope. Why was he wasting his precious time with her anyway?_

 _Right. Now he remembered._

 _This stubborn brat wanted to become his apprentice, or something like that. But in all honesty, she seemed a bit too innocent and inexperienced for his taste._

 _And he liked working alone better._

 _"But the way you said it was a bit_ … _i-inappropriate!" she yelled at him, "When you say it like that, how do you expect me to take it seriously?"_

 _"Y'know what?" Terumi started as he turned himself around, "I'm done talking to you. And don't you even think about-"_

 _The man quickly leaned to the side to avoid an elbow from crashing into the back of his skull, before swiftly sweeping the girl off her feet with a deep scowl._

 _"-trying to take me out from behind." He scoffed, "And that was a cheap move."_

 _She whined. "But I almost got you!"_

 _"Too bad!" he growled. "Now leave me alone!"_

 _Terumi walked away with a huff, leaving the girl lying there on the ground, alone. He didn't care one bit. If a meteor were to suddenly come crashing down on her right now, then he would be dancing around like an idiot for the entire world to see._

 _She had been following him around lately, and he was beginning to get annoyed by this. Everywhere he went, she would always make her sudden appearance, and would later challenge him in a fight. It was getting ridiculous._

 _He was a sadistic killer, and killers don't get stalked by innocent girls. Seriously, what do people take him for? He took sick pleasure in killing his victims, like those good for nothing Silver-Eyed Warriors for example, and being stalked by someone was ruining that image._

 _Why was she so interested anyway? Does she even know who she was freaking dealing with here?_

 _If only she'd just disappear, then all his problems would be solved in a blink of an eye._

 _"Hey."_

 _Terumi immediately halted himself, and proceeded to raise an eyebrow._

 _"What?"_

 _Three seconds of utter silence flew by._

 _"Do you think I'm afraid of you?"_

 _It was an innocent question. Too innocent. And it made him feel sick to the stomach._

 _He turned his head around, peering at her from underneath his hood._

 _"Are you?"_

 _She closed her eyes, and smiled._

 _"Nope!"_

 **-IIXII-**

Terumi loudly gasped as he snapped his eyes wide open, breathing heavily while he was sweating all over. The man quickly looked around to take in his surroundings, and finally calmed his breathing after noticing that he was in an alley.

Right. He had immediately went unconscious the moment he got here. Or more accurately, _teleported_ , in his case.

It was just a dream. A simple dream.

But he knew better than that. He obviously did.

That wasn't a dream. It was one of his memories. One of which he had locked away a long time ago, to be exact.

They were nothing more but forgotten memories of the past.

"Shit…" he silently cursed.

A day had gone by since the fight, and he wondered if it was all just a terrible dream. Then again, he wasn't stupid to think that.

He leaned his head against the wall, and gave a heavy sigh as he rested a hand on his stomach. The wounds which were caused by those blades were still there, but they were fortunately in the process of healing up.

"Dammit Summer…"

Those unwanted memories pissed him off. But at the same time, he was relieved for the fact that he still remembered, if only just the tiny bits and pieces.

The man chuckled at that.

"After what I did to you…" he muttered, "…you decided to save my ass huh? What a load…of bullshit."

Terumi pulled up his hood, running a hand through his green hair as another sigh came out.

He was freakin' tired, and taking a long and peaceful nap sounded tempting right now.

"Just…don't expect any favors from me. I don't really take favors from someone who's supposed to be dead."

Speaking of which, there was another person he needed to worry about. And just like Summer, this person was supposed to be dead as well.

"I'm still trying to come up with an answer to how that wimp managed to escape the Boundary, and yet…" he groaned, "…I still got nothing."

He sure had a lot of things going on in his mind. A lot of shit happened in a short amount of time, so it wasn't really his fault that he was stressed out because of all this.

Well, maybe taking a long nap right now wouldn't hurt. It'll help ease his mind a bit, if only for a few minutes or so.

Yeah, that sounded like a great plan.

"I've finally found you…Terumi."

Great. Just great.

"What now!?"

Terumi glared daggers at where the familiar voice came from, and was shocked when Relius Clover came into view. He honestly didn't expect to see this crazy asshole so soon. In fact, this crazy son of a bitch was the last person he wanted to see.

Well, as long as he wasn't trying to kill him, then it's fine by him.

Oh wait.

With all that's happened, he guess he could say that they weren't really partners anymore.

Well crap.

But damn, Relius looked like utter shit. What the hell happened to this guy?

"With that insane mind of yours…I'm not surprised that you managed to track me down." He chuckled, "And what the hell happened to you? You look like you've been pretty busy."

"I was…" Relius muttered, looking down at the empty space where his left arm should've been. He should consider himself lucky, because that arm of his was just a prosthetic. "I ran into…someone," he grunted, "I underestimated him."

"Must be one hell of a guy then," Terumi said, without even making it sound like he cared, and he wasted no time in flipping one of his knives open. Honestly, he never really liked taking any chances when it came to this guy. And when he did, it was like playing a game of Russian Roulette with five rounds loaded inside the cylinder. "Now, what do you want?"

Relius hummed. "Simple."

"Just spit it out," growled Terumi.

The professor smirked as he placed a finger on his chin, and as if on cue, Ignis made her sudden appearance beside him.

"I can't leave someone as dangerous as you running around in this large city. I will admit that finding you…was a hassle, to say the least, and I truly do not intend to repeat the same process once more."

"Get to the damn point already," Terumi grumbled with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Relius sighed, "You are a dangerous being, Terumi, and I shall simply do this world a small favor…"

Ignis tilted her head, and prepared her bloodstained claws.

"…and end you."

At this, Ignis lunged forward to strike her prey in the gut with her sharp claws, but unfortunately, said prey managed to roll out of the way in time. She quickly looked to where he went, only for a green serpent to slam itself against her chest area.

"Go screw yourself, Relius!" Terumi snarled as he threw the knife in his hand at Ignis' head to buy himself a few more seconds, adding, "What's your true motive? Killing me ain't worth shit to you, am I wrong? There's more to it than that."

"And what if there is?" Relius challenged with a smirk, "Are you going to stand in my way? If so, then you're nothing but an incompetent fool."

"An incompetent fool…you say?" With a low growl, Terumi proceeded to give Ignis a kick to the chest, which surprisingly sent her stumbling into the wall. "Just watch me as I shove those words up your ass."

"I'd love to see you try," Relius said.

"Oh I will!" Terumi retorted.

Just then, a white blur made its sudden appearance in the alley, right before it zoomed past Relius, as it knocked him towards the ground. He was caught off-guard at this, and Terumi, who saw the whole thing, quickly took the opportunity and slammed his foot against the side of his face.

"Get a load of my shoe, you bastard!" Terumi snarled, before he took the chance and ran out of the alley. The man was too injured for this shit, so fighting someone as dangerous as Relius was definitely out of the question. "Stomp you later, asshole!"

And with that, he was gone.

"Ugh…" Relius groaned, "What…in heaven's name…was that?"

Ignis went to her husband's side and slowly helped him up, then backed away slightly to give him some space. Figuring that she wasn't needed at the moment, Ignis decided to just teleport away, leaving her husband alone in the dark alley.

"Was it Phantom?" Relius thought aloud, but then shook his head shortly after. "It couldn't be. Besides, there is no reason for her to work alongside him, is there?"

At that exact moment, he felt a pair of eyes digging a hole into his back, and he immediately whirled himself around to see who it was.

No one was there.

However, he could've sworn he heard someone giggling in the distance.

 **-IIXII-**

"Shit!" Terumi cursed as he finally stopped running, and then proceeded to lean his side against the wall.

He was pissed, and that expression of his was proof of that.

"Every single one of them…"

He slammed his fist against the wall before placing his other hand on his knee, and with a quick look around, it seemed that he had stumbled upon the streets of the city. Luckily, no one seemed like they recognized him. Well, not yet anyway.

"Saved…by you of all people. Again," he muttered, and was undeterred when two Bullheads can be seen hovering around in his area.

After all that's happened, he can't really blame them for being extra cautious.

Those annoying sacks of shit.

He gave a tired sigh.

"Look like I need to be careful from now on."

 **-IIXII-**

"Do you need any help, Mister Taurus?"

Adam growled lowly, but he made no effort to look at the girl who was walking beside him. He wanted to scare her away, but too bad he needed to use his weapon as a crutch in order to keep on walking.

"I'm fine. Now leave me alone, human."

Her fingers twitched at that, which went unnoticed by Adam.

"I'm…sorry," she muttered.

"Don't," he quickly replied, "And do not follow me. Once I'm done resting, I'll kill you. So it's best if you were to run now while you still can."

"But I can't," Penny pouted.

Adam gave a frustrated groan, and leaned his back against the wall. He looked up, took in a deep breath, and exhaled sharply. Gripping his weapon, Adam then turned his head towards Penny, and she could see the anger and exhaustion in his eyes.

"Why?"

She grinned.

"Because you're a friend!"

His left eye twitched.

"I do not have the time to play stupid games with you, little naïve girl. You better start explaining yourself," he said somewhat calmly, "lest you want to lose your precious tongue."

"Well…" she tilted her head to the side, then continued, "…you and Blake were fighting against that crazy man together. She's a friend, and since you were helping her, that means you're a friend too!"

Adam winced.

He had forgotten all about her, and that pretty much shocked him.

Was he really _that_ desperate to get his revenge on Terumi? Was he?

Then why?

In fact, what was his actual goal in the first place?

He wanted to prove himself that he's a strong individual. He wanted power, so he could prove to others that he's someone who's reliable. He wanted to put an end to Mister Schnee's life, just so the SDC can finally stop all the terrible things that it's been causing to the faunus people.

And most importantly, he wanted to change the world into a better place. A place where his people could live a happy and peaceful life, without having to fear the feeling of being tormented by those disgusting humans.

He despised them. To be perfectly frank, he hated humans more than the creatures of Grimm themselves.

And yet, why did it all suddenly feel so wrong?

Just then, memories of his childhood popped up in his mind.

Most of them were hazy at best, others were filled with pain and hatred, regret even, and only a few contained happiness.

But one particular memory, the one which had plagued his dreams and robbed him of his sleep countless of times in the past, began to play itself in his mind. Out of all of them, he remembered this particular one the most.

The delicious smell of freshly made soup. The sound of footsteps as he ran down the stairs. The soft smile that greeted him, along with the caring and gentle voice of his kind mother. The sound of her laughter when he came up with a joke, which somehow involved a snake and a puppy.

He smiled, though it was faint.

But just like that, it vanished.

The sound of their front door being busted open. The sight of two unfamiliar thugs entering their home. The terrified screams of his mother as a gun was fired. The amount of fear that he felt when he hid himself under his bed. The amount of sadness he felt when he saw his mother's lifeless body. The hatred he felt when he found out that his neighbors did absolutely _nothing_ to help throughout the whole ordeal.

Ever since that dreadful day, he had been moving himself forward without stopping. Hatred was the one and only thing that kept him going, and it still is to this day.

And at some point in his life, he joined the White Fang. From there, he met Blake. They grew close, trained together, became lovers even.

Then after a while, for some unknown reasons, she left. He was angered by it, of course. And after that, everything began to slowly change.

For the worst.

Adam can't even begin to start questioning himself anymore. Was he wrong the entire time? Blinded even? He couldn't understand. How could he? It was all simply confusing to him.

And why on Remnant did she ran away? Why?

This internal conflict was starting to irritate him. He needed to calm himself down, lest he wanted to start taking his anger out on innocent bystanders.

"Mister Taurus?" Penny called out, "Are you there? Hello?"

"What!?" he snapped.

The girl flinched at his outburst, and immediately looked to the ground to avoid his sharp gaze. In all her life, she had never been scared like this before. It was a whole new experience for the girl, and one that she'll never forget.

"M-My apologies," Penny mumbled.

Footsteps can be heard, and once Penny had looked up, she was surprised to see Adam walking away. He no longer used his weapon as a crutch, but the way his legs shook was enough to tell her that he needed help.

"Just…leave me alone," Adam grumbled tiredly.

She'll have none of that, whether he liked it or not. Besides, Adam never did deny the fact that they were now friends, and friends helped each other out.

"W-Wait for me!"

And so, she decided to simply follow him, much to his annoyance. It was going to be a long day, and there's no doubt about it.

"Wait," Adam said as he remembered something.

"What is it?" Penny went to his side, but he paid her no mind.

The bull faunus fished out his scroll device from his pocket, and he was somewhat relieved to know that it wasn't broken.

"Better get this done and over with," he grumbled.

 **-IIXII-**

A sigh could be heard from her lips, as she sat down on her bed. It had been a tiring day, and she was _this_ close to killing a student for confessing his love to her in front of her teammates. It was a moment of humiliation for her, but she had made sure to scare him off with one of her terrifying death glares.

His expression was priceless.

"I'm sure that poor guy'll shit bricks for the rest of the day," Mercury said with a chuckle, which prompted Emerald to snicker at the comment.

"Yeah," the girl nodded, "The look on his face was funny!"

"You bet it was!" he laughed.

Cinder cleared her throat, and the two immediately went silent. The woman took a second to rub her temples, wishing she could kill her headache, before landing her gaze on Mercury.

"What of Adam Taurus, Mercury?" she inquired, and the boy gulped upon hearing the question.

"He's still in the dark…" Mercury answered with his gaze elsewhere, "And the same goes for Neo."

Cinder's eyes glowed at this, but they grew dim when her scroll vibrated. She took the small device from her desk, ignoring the curious looks Emerald and Mercury were giving her, then proceeded to open it.

Adam Taurus came into view.

"Adam," Cinder started, a bit of surprise evident in her voice, "Do you mind telling me where you've been all this time? I take it that-"

"Shut it, whore," Adam interrupted, rendering the woman speechless. "I'm done working with you. I have more important matters at hand, and you," he glared, "are in the way of said matters. Good day."

And with that, he ended the call.

The room was filled with utter silence, and the tension in the air was obvious.

Not to mention the heat, which was emitting from Cinder.

Being the asshole he was, Mercury placed his hand on his partner's shoulder and gave her a gentle push forward. Emerald turned to glare at him, and he simply nodded towards Cinder.

Rolling her eyes, the thief turned her attention towards her leader, then smiled nervously. Emerald was a bit scared, she'd admit that, but it wasn't her fault. Cinder can be terrifying whenever she wanted to be, especially when the woman was in one of her moods. Dealing with an angered Cinder was the last thing she needed.

Well, it's better to calm her down now than never.

"Cinder," she started, "are you alright?"

Silence was the only thing that greeted Emerald, and Mercury was beginning to think that it was best to leave, lest he'd end up facing Cinder's wrath.

"Ma'am?" Emerald called out once more, and nearly jumped when the woman turned herself around. Without a word, Cinder made her way towards the door, and left.

The room was filled with silence once more.

Well, that is until Mercury decided to speak up.

"I think," he chuckled, "it would be best if we were to just leave her be."

 **-IIXII-**

The morning air was cold, and his occasional shivering was proof of that. She didn't know why, but seeing him like this made her worry, and she _rarely_ felt worried when it came to others.

Why was she acting all soft all of a sudden, anyway?

It bothered her.

Could it be, the kid reminded her of her own daughter?

Raven sighed and stopped dead in her tracks, earning a confused look from Carl. She slowly took off her mask, and proceeded to look at Carl from the corner of her eyes.

The woman stared into his blue orbs, and the things she saw in them weren't really what she was expecting.

Pain, exhaustion, anger, sadness, concern, and a whole lot of other emotions that she could easily identify. The boy was literally a bucket filled with negative emotions, and it was concerning, to say the least.

Just what did this kid went through in his life?

"Are you cold?" she asked.

"H-Huh? Oh, i-it's nothing to worry about, Miss Branwen," Carl assured her with a soft smile. "How's your wound, if I may ask?"

Raven shifted her gaze down to the purple cape that was wrapped around her waist. The blood had dried long since then, thanks to her Aura, and judging by the absence of the pain, the wound had probably healed itself already.

The woman shifted her gaze back to the young boy, and saw him smiling at her.

"Well?"

Damn that innocent smile.

Raven turned away from him and closed her eyes, muttering, "Thank you…for the cape."

"E-Eh?"

Carl tilted his head in confusion, and was surprised when he saw Raven unwrapping his cape from her waist. "M-Miss Branwen? S-Shouldn't you-"

"My wound has healed, thanks to you," Raven said. "However, I'm sorry for dirtying your cape with my blood. You must feel disgusted." She huffed. "My apologies."

"N-Not at all!" Carl quickly said, "I don't mind about my cape. In fact, I'm just really happy to know that your wound is healed."

Polite and selfless as always.

"I see," she murmured.

Unbeknownst to Carl, Raven was smiling.

"Carl."

"Yes?" Carl looked to her, confused.

The woman placed her mask over her face once more, then turned to Carl. She knelt down in front of him, and simply attached the cape to the back of its rightful owner.

"For a young child such as yourself, you sure know how to be polite to your elders. I'm impressed."

Raven dusted off his left shoulder, taking note of the small blush visible on his cheeks, then tilted her head slightly as she rested her left elbow on her knee.

"Your sister should consider herself lucky to have you as her little brother."

Ada, who had been watching the whole time, looked to Raven with a tilt of her head. The woman landed her gaze on Ada not too long after that, and gave her a nod.

"F-Flattery will get you nowhere," Carl muttered with an embarrassed smile, "But…I shall take your words to heart, Miss Branwen."

Raven can only nod at this, as she slowly stood up. She didn't know why, but she was suddenly in a good mood. It surprised her.

She had been living outside of Vale ever since she had left Taiyang. To say it was a cruel world was simply laughable, and the people who she had come across would either try to steal from her, or kill her. Though, it wasn't really that surprising, considering the fact that everyone who lived outside the walls had to struggle to survive from the creatures of Grimm.

Raven had spent most of her life traveling alone outside the walls, and because of that, she had grown cold. But after meeting Carl, she began to change, if only for a bit.

Maybe having him around wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Say Carl, I have a question that I'd like to ask," Raven said.

"What is it?" Carl asked.

Before Raven could even speak however, Carl's cheeks went red, as he whirled himself around to face Ada. "S-Sister! Don't say something like that! I-It's inappropriate!"

Raven raised an eyebrow at this, as she placed a hand on her hip. "Is there anything that I should know?"

"N-Nothing important," Carl muttered, which prompted Ada to cover her mouth with one of her hands, looking as if she was giggling. "A-Anyway," he turned to her, "what was the question?"

Raven was silent, but after a second, she finally spoke.

"Would you like me to aid you…with your current task?"

 **-IIXII-**

How many days had it been since then? Not that he minded being held up in this dump, of course. He could never say no to free daily meals, after all.

But still, the thought of Neo working for Cinder without knowing what they were actually doing was beginning to get to him, if only for a bit. The girl's safety was important, even though he knew quite well that she could pretty much handle herself if anything happened.

Even so, if he had to pick a choice to either stay, or be released, then he'd no doubt pick the latter within a heartbeat. Hell, if he could, he'd ditch the plan and start a new life in Vacuo, along with Neo.

But Cinder wouldn't want that. That annoying woman.

"You better be safe out there, Neo," Roman muttered, which was then followed by a short sigh as he leaned his head back with his eyes closed. "If something were to happen to you, which I highly doubt, then I don't know what I'd do."

The infamous thief cracked an eye open and stared up at the ceiling.

"It's a cruel world out there."

Why did he choose to steal, instead of having a normal life?

Simple.

Living in the streets just wasn't his thing. If he hadn't stolen that huge chunk of meat in the first place, then he'd be dead for all he knew. He had made it a rule to _never_ starve himself again, and not even once had that rule ever been broken.

Roman scratched his head and exhaled, all the while wishing he had a cigar and his lighter with him. It's been a while since his last smoke, and it was one of the only things that ever bothered him.

"Smoking a nice cigar would be great right now," he grumbled, and as if the angels had answered his prayers, three cigars made themselves known by being thrown straight at his face. "Ow! Hey!"

He glared at where the cigars came from, but what met his eyes soon made his jaw drop.

"N-Neo?"

True to his words, the short girl was standing right in front of him with a genuine smile playing across her lips. She had his lighter in her right hand, which was lighted up, while Melodic Cudgel was held by the other. She was currently wearing his bowler hat, and if Roman was being honest with himself, she looked rather cute.

But cute or not, the sight of her tattered clothes was enough to make him jump to his feet, before grabbing her shoulders with worry written across his face. He never revealed this side of him to anyone, not even Cinder.

This side of him was only reserved for Neo, and anyone who said otherwise would either be killed, or tortured, and then killed.

"Neo, what in the world happened to you!? Where did you get all these injuries from!?"

Roman could clearly see the exhaustion in her eyes. It was as clear as the light of day itself.

Neo didn't answer. Instead, she closed the lighter and walked forward, before pulling Roman into a warm embrace. He was confused by this, obviously, but before he could even begin to question anything else, both he and Neo were engulfed in a bright light, which forced him to shut his eyes.

When the light faded, Roman slowly opened his eyes once more, only to see that they weren't inside his jail cell anymore. Instead, they were in Neo's safe house.

To say he was shocked was an understatement. Getting released early was not really a part of the plan, not that he actually minded anyway.

Just what in the name of hell happened to Neo? Was the entire plan sabotaged? Were they both not needed no more?

One person came to his mind, and he immediately growled.

"Cinder…"

That woman was the only person he knew who could actually land a finger on Neo. If she were to come by and show her face right now, then he'd probably start blasting it with Melodic Cudgel.

And also besides, he had always wanted to do that. She irritated him, and that's a good enough reason in his opinion.

Without warning, Neo went limp in his arms, and Roman was lucky he's able to react in time. If not, then the short girl would've kissed the ground and hurt her face.

"I don't know what's going on…" Roman started, "…but all I know now is that Neo needs me. She can tell me everything later."

And with that, Roman carried her up bridal style and quickly went to one of the bedrooms. He kicked the door open and rushed to the side of the bed, and proceeded to gently place Neo down on it.

"There you go…"

The criminal stepped back with concern written across his face, then took a second to examine her body.

It was a mess, and her clothes were no different. Just what the hell happened to her?

Could this actually be his fault?

Roman could feel his eyes growing wide at the thought, and all of a sudden, breathing felt like inhaling contaminated air.

"I never should've agreed to this."

He pulled a stool that was nearby and sat himself down, burying his face in his hands shortly after.

Regret began to fill his mind. He never should've worked with Cinder in the first place. He knew something like this was bound to happen one day, but he just didn't know when.

The deal that Cinder had promised him was too hard for him to resist, and he wasted no time in accepting it in the end. And besides, more lien would mean that he'd have an easy and happy life, along with Neo.

But unfortunately, look where that got him.

Roman felt sick, disgusted even.

This was all his fault.

Sudden movements from the bed managed to snap him back into reality, which prompted him to remove his hands from his face, and the sight which greeted him made his heart break.

Neo's facial expression was one of fear, as she slowly tossed and turned to try to escape whatever she was currently dreaming. Her right hand was moving all around the bed, as if she was trying to search for something important.

Roman smiled, and gently took her small hand in his own. And just like that, Neo's tossing and turning ceased, as her expression changed into something more calm and peaceful.

The girl gave his hand a gentle squeeze, then smiled.

"That's better," Roman chuckled.

Well, at least Neo was with him. He can plan Cinder's death later, because as of now, she needed him.

However, his face darkened when a thought crossed his mind.

"Just wait until I get my hands on you, Cinder."

 **-IIXII-**

Hazama grunted in pain as he was slammed against the wall, but despite that, he proceeded to smile and open an eye, before looking down at his attacker.

"Miss Goodwitch, I don't think a proper lady like you should assault a person without giving them a warning of some kind. It…doesn't suit you."

Glynda's expression was one of pure rage, and people rarely get to witness said expression, even Ozpin himself. It was a once in a lifetime thing, of course. People would normally shit their pants at the sight, but when it came to someone like Hazama, it was nothing. Working for the Goddess of Death herself would do that to you.

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't crush your body and feed you to the Grimm in the Emerald Forest," Glynda demanded as her Aura engulfed her entire frame, all the while having her riding crop aimed at his throat. "I shall give you five seconds."

Hazama sighed. "Okay, so it's-"

"Your time is up," Glynda interrupted.

"W-Wait!"

"Glynda, that's enough. Now, let him go," Ozpin ordered as he stood next to her, looking all calm and professional. "We wouldn't want to behave badly in front of our…guests, now would we?"

Said guests were currently standing behind Ozpin with their eyes widened in utter shock and bewilderment, along with General Ironwood, who was eyeing the vessel with an uneasy feeling. Though it's no surprise, because anyone who'd meet the man for the first time would either feel the same way or run away.

"What…the acorn…has this bastard been up to?" Makoto muttered, before emitting a low growl as she prepared Impact, her twin tonfas. "Y'know, I wouldn't mind lending her a hand if it means I'd get to punch his acorns."

"M-Makoto…" Kagura nervously called out as he turned to her, but the looks on the faces of his other two companions told him that they were thinking the same thing. "G-Girls, calm down. I don't think beating him up in front of our new friends here is-"

"I haven't seen you guys in a while, but to be honest, I'm not really that happy to see your faces," Hazama sneered, much to Kagura's chagrin. "Miss me, by any chance?"

"Go to hell!" Makoto yelled.

"Oh?" Hazama challenged her with a smirk, "Well, I certainly won't go, that is…unless you'd accompany me."

"How about I _send_ you to hell instead, you snake?" the beastkin retorted with a growl.

Hazama scoffed, "Well, I-"

Whatever the vessel wanted to say, he was unfortunately interrupted when Glynda decided that enough was enough.

And so, Hazama was slammed down onto the cold floor, courtesy of the strict Huntress.

Tsubaki and Noel gasped in surprise and shock, while Makoto simply nodded and huffed, clearly not minding Glynda's way of shutting him up.

"Oh my…" Ozpin murmured as he looked down to Hazama, clearly not making any effort to help, "My apologies, Mister Hazama. Glynda can be a bit…violent, at times."

Well, now that's just stating the bloody obvious. What's next, the woman has a habit of scowling her students to death?

Glynda didn't say anything to that however, as she simply stormed off with her trademark scowl to do whatever she was planning on doing. No doubt trying to kick all the stress from her system.

Kagura just hoped the woman owned a stress ball, and if she did, he felt sorry for it.

"Don't…mention it," Hazama grumbled.

"So," James began, "this is the man who accompanied your students on that mission."

"That is him," Ozpin nodded.

Kagura's eyes went wide at the mention of Hazama's mission, and the others were beginning to worry if they might actually pop out of their sockets.

"Wait, so you're telling me that this guy," the Black Knight pointed towards Hazama, who was in the process of pushing himself off the ground, "is working in this academy? As a professor?"

James and Ozpin looked to one another for a brief moment, before the latter simply answered with, "That is correct."

"W-W-What!?" Noel squeaked out in shock. "C-Captain Hazama is a professor!?"

"I find that hard to believe," Tsubaki stated with a cross of her arms, "This man has committed countless of crimes in our world, and a punishment is in order."

Ozpin and James raised their eyebrows at the girl's words. The two weren't expecting this, obviously.

"Screw that," Hazama laughed as he dusted off his clothes, "Do keep in mind that we are _not_ in our home world anymore, so any rules or laws from that dump we call a planet doesn't apply to me here. Besides, the NOL sucked anyway."

Tsubaki unsheathed her blade, and pointed said blade at the man's throat.

"I work for the organization that you speak of, Captain Hazama. I dare you to insult-"

A hand landed on her left shoulder, which calmed her down almost immediately. The red-haired fighter turned to the hand's owner, and furrowed her brows when she saw Jin's troubled expression.

"J-Jin?"

"Tsubaki," the man began, "no matter how you look at it, he's right." Jin gave a sigh, adding, "Now please, lower your sword. You are starting to make those two feel uncomfortable."

He was obviously referring to Ozpin and James, who had been quiet the entire time, but it was not entirely true. In fact, Ozpin seemed interested to see where this was going, and James on the other hand, was the only one who actually felt uncomfortable. Though, the look on his face told them that he was somewhat interested as well.

"And there's also another thing that I need to tell you," Jin muttered, successfully gaining Tsubaki's undivided attention.

"Hmm? What is it?" she asked.

Jin went silent as he focused his gaze on Hazama, which did not go unnoticed by the others. The vessel saw the look in his eyes, and he immediately understood the message. If they were going to hunt the bastard down, then they were going to need some serious help.

The sick bastard could be anywhere right now. Hell, he could be plotting some kind of evil plan for all they knew.

Besides, what's the point of hiding it from them? They needed to know.

And Jin was going to make sure of that.

"It's about…Terumi."

The hallway suddenly went cold at his words, as all eyes landed on him. None dared to say a word, and it stayed like that for a few seconds.

Kagura and his female companions were utterly shocked at the news, no doubt already connecting the dots without in need of any further details. Just by hearing the name of that wretched being was enough to make their skins crawl.

Ozpin and James seemed to notice the mood, and rather than sounding their thoughts, they merely decided to observe things further. The two didn't want to interfere, so observing was obviously the best course of action for now.

However, the silence did not last long, as Kagura spoke.

"Is he…contained?"

Jin shook his head as an answer, earning a grunt from the Black Knight. The girls silently looked to one another, each of their expressions troubled.

"W-Well," Kagura nervously said, "now this just got complicated. I don't think Professor Kokonoe is going to take the news too well. Knowing her, she'll probably order us to stay-"

"Which is a good thing," Hazama interrupted, shaking his head afterwards when Kagura gave him a puzzled look. "The sooner we find him, the better. And for that to happen, we need to stay."

"And why should we listen to someone like you?" Noel glared at him. "You're nothing but a liar, Hazama."

The man emitted a growl as he looked to the side, folding his arms as the events from yesterday played themselves in his mind. It angered him. He was _this_ close to ending it all, and yet, things would never go the way he wanted. It's always been that way nowadays.

If he could, he'd murder some of the students just so he could relieve some stress, but too bad Ozpin was in charge. The old man wouldn't be happy to see corpses littering in the hallways of his academy now, would he?

"I fought him…yesterday," Hazama muttered, which gained the others' attention. "I was close to killing him too, but…"

"You too…aren't working together?" Tsubaki asked with a bit of surprise evident in her voice, narrowing her eyes later when a small smirk graced the man's lips.

"You could say that."

The sound of someone clearing their throat could be heard.

"My apologies for interrupting," Ozpin suddenly said, before adding, "but something has been bothering me for a while. I'd like to ask you all an important question, just so I could ease my worries, if only for a bit."

Kagura was confused by this, but nodded anyway. "Go ahead."

"I understand if you think it is wise to not answer, but it's about the man…whom you all speak of."

It was now safe to say that Ozpin had their complete attention.

Makoto looked to Tsubaki, then slowly nodded.

"What would you like to know about him, Professor Ozpin?" Tsubaki asked, but the expression shown across her features clearly told him that she was nervous.

The NOL members knew that there were some questions not meant to be answered and instead needed to be kept secret, but even so, they would make sure to try their best to satisfy his curiosity.

Ozpin's expression turned serious, and if James was being honest with himself, then he was sure as hell frightened a bit.

The hallway was silent for a full three seconds as they awaited the headmaster's question, but to most of them, it felt like an eternity.

Now, let it be known to all of them that Professor Ozpin was an intimidating person when he was serious.

"Is there a chance that the name of this man…is Yuuki Terumi?"

That got a reaction out of everyone.

James furrowed his eyebrows.

Hazama cracked an eye open, staring at the headmaster with his expression unreadable.

Jin and Kagura widened their eyes in utter shock, before quickly looking to one another after recovering themselves.

Noel, Makoto, and Tsubaki gasped, no doubt they were shocked as well.

It was clear that Ozpin had his answer.

"How do you-" Jin wanted to ask, but the ridiculously heavy handbag that flew straight to the side of his head unfortunately sent him crashing to the ground, earning shocked looks from almost everyone.

If Jin was anyone else, he'd be dead right now.

"What is the meaning of this!?" General Ironwood exclaimed.

"J-Jin!?" Tsubaki called out as she quickly went to his side, slowly helping him up. Noel and Kagura decided to help as well, before they looked to where the object came from.

"W-Who is that?" Noel stammered.

"Oh my," the Black Knight grinned, "that's one hell of a nice body she has there. I wonder…"

Noel and Tsubaki gave him sour looks.

"What?"

"So, you were the bastard who hurt my little bunny," the voice of Coco Adel said in the distance. "I hope you're prepared to get your ass kicked."

"Who the hell?" Makoto looked to where the voice came from, and the sight of the second year team leader made her growl. "Hey, we're not looking for trouble. I suggest you walk away. Now."

Coco gave the squirrel beastkin a challenging grin.

"Or what?"

Makoto grinned as well.

"Or else I'll send you through the roof with a single punch."

Jin clutched the side of his head in utter pain, and quickly looked to the headmaster to ask his question once more.

Only to see him walking away in the distance, reading something on his scroll device.

Jin wanted to call out his name, but the pain in his head prevented him from doing so.

Just then, Team RWBY, minus their leader, along with Team JNPR and the rest of Team CFVY can be seen heading their way in the distance. Most of their eyes immediately landed on Jin the moment they saw him, and at that moment, he knew he was screwed.

"You!" the blonde exclaimed, as her lilac eyes turned crimson. "I hope you're ready for round two, asshole!"

Okay, _now_ he was screwed.

"Professor Kisaragi," Hazama coolly said as he leaned against the wall, smiling, "you better handle this quick before shit starts happening."

 **-IIXII-**

She slowly opened her eyes with a painful groan, no doubt all the commotion outside was the main cause of it. Her body felt numb, but despite that, she proceeded to sit herself up in her bed.

"What…happened to me?"

With a quick look, Ruby took note of the patient gown she was wearing, instead of her usual attire. It wasn't really comfortable, but it's better than being naked.

The clock on the wall told her that it was around eight in the morning, but that wasn't important right now. She needed to know the date for today, but after noticing the lack of calendars inside the room, she grumbled.

With nothing else in mind, Ruby decided to examine the room further, though nothing special caught her eyes.

That is, until her eyes landed on the extra bed beside hers.

"Huh?"

She rubbed then squinted her eyes to get a better look at the person on the bed, and after her vision had cleared a bit, the first thing she saw was the face of her teammate. The boy was also up, though with his head down, it appears he was sleeping.

"Wait a minute," Ruby muttered as her eyes widened themselves bit by bit, while the events from yesterday slowly came back to her. However, before the little reaper could even begin to think of anything else, the familiar scent of freshly made cookies entered her nostrils.

Her stomach growled, which made her blush slightly. With Ruby out for the count for who knows how many days already, it's no surprise that she'd be hungry.

But where on Remnant was the smell coming from?

"R-Ruby?"

She jumped slightly, and immediately regretted it when she nearly fell down from her bed.

"You're…awake."

Ruby quickly turned to her teammate with concern written across her face, and the first thing she saw was his smile, though it was weak. From what she could remember, he was the one who had it worst compared to all the others.

"Kazuma," Ruby began, "how are you feeling?"

Kval seemed hesitant to answer, so instead of answering, he looked down to the plate that was placed on his lap, before holding it out towards her.

He mustered a smile. "Cookies?"

Ruby wanted to reject the offer, but her hunger for food was obviously against the idea. She hadn't eaten yet, so having a small snack wouldn't hurt, right?

Besides, Kval was offering her cookies, so the least she could do was accept them. Rejecting the offer would've seem a bit rude, if she was being honest with herself.

And so, she smiled.

"Hehe…I guess I'll take…" Ruby trailed off as her eyes slowly widened themselves, staring down at the vessel's right arm. The very same arm which had been torn apart just yesterday.

"What!?" She leaned herself towards him, silver eyes examining the boy's arm rather than the delicious cookies. The little Huntress-in-training stared at his arm from every angle possible, and it would've been funny if it weren't for the tons of shit they'd just went through. "H-How is this even possible!? I saw it happened with my very own eyes!?"

Kval winced at her outburst. He pulled his arm back with a nervous laugh, but was surprised when Ruby snatched the plate away from his hand, devouring the cookies one after another not too long after that.

Though, her eyes were trained on him while she ate.

"I guess…you want an explanation?"

She nodded, eyes narrowing.

Kval scratched the back of his head and smiled a nervous smile, unsure of how to explain things. For all he knew, the reaper _might_ _not_ take the news too well.

Ruby had saw how it happened in front of her very own eyes, had to face the thought of him possibly dying, had cried even. So if she ended up chopping him into small pieces after explaining how he got his arm back, then he wouldn't blame her.

If Kval was being honest with himself, then it was obviously his fault. He should've told Team RWBY about this a long while ago.

"You could say that I was…created…this way?" he laughed nervously. "My body could heal any type of injury in just a short amount of time. But…losing an arm…was something that had never happened to me before, so I guess the healing process took more time than I expected, which isn't really surprising."

Silence filled the room.

"Are you…" he gulped, "…mad?"

No answer.

Kval blinked, but he was then surprised to see Ruby nowhere in bed. The only thing he could see on said bed were a few rose petals, before he began to notice more of them across the floor, which leads to his own bed.

Now that he thought about it, why did he felt like something was straddling him?

Oh.

"Let me see your arm."

"E-Eh?"

Kval looked to his front, and was met with the sight of Ruby with her arms crossed, expression unreadable as she kept eyeing his right arm. Though, the cookie which she held in her right hand made her look less intimidating.

Ruby closed her eyes.

"L-Let me see your arm," she repeated, her voice barely a whisper. "P-Please."

The stutter in her voice surprised him, and Kval was close to leaning himself forward to ask her what was wrong. But instead, he moved his right arm, and settled his hand on her pale cheek. If Ruby was afraid that his right arm was just a figment of her imagination, then this would definitely help ease her worries.

Ruby gasped upon receiving the sudden touch contact, eyes now opened. However, the moment she saw his smile, she relaxed a bit.

"Hey."

Yellow met silver, and it seemed to stay that way, if only for the moment.

"Ruby, are you mad?" Kval asked, his smile now gone. "The suspense is killing me, y'know. I mean, I understand if-"

"I want to," Ruby interrupted, "I _want_ to be mad at you. I really do, and it's not even funny…"

Kval moved his head down in utter shame and guilt. He was about to pull his hand back, but the words that came out of the girl's mouth prevented him from doing so.

"But…I can't."

Kval shot his head up and looked to her, only to see her smiling at him with teary eyes. The sight was too much for him, and he did the first thing that came to mind.

Kval pulled her into a tight embrace, and whether if she was going to return it or not, it wouldn't matter. All he wanted at this moment was to comfort her.

It was the least he could do.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Ruby whispered, and to his surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck, returning the hug. "You're also an idiot…for making me worry like that."

"I'm sorry I made you worry," he whispered, stroking her hair as he did. Sighing, he added, "I guess I forget to tell you."

Ruby sniffled. "I just…don't want to lose you. Just…don't scare me like that ever again." She pulled her head back, and stared at him, but chuckled when a sudden thought entered her mind. "A-Also, the others will probably kill you for making them worry. Though, I wouldn't blame them."

Kval immediately froze upon hearing her words.

"Well…I can always block the door with my serpents," he nervously said.

Ruby giggled, then stared at the cookie in her hand, before doing the same to him. "Have you…eaten anything?"

He shook his head. "I'm not hungry, and those cookies were meant for you." He smiled, "Normally, food from the dining hall isn't allowed for patients like us, but I managed to get the cookies by threatening one of the staff members."

Ruby averted her gaze away from him with a small blush, as the image of him wearing a chef outfit while preparing a batch of cookies came to mind, but the last thing he said made her jaw drop. She looked to him in utter shock, wide-eyed.

"You did what!?"

He winced.

"I wanted you to at least eat something the moment you wake up, so…why not ask them for cookies?" Kval asked, which was then followed by a nervous chuckle. "They were against the idea at first, but…" he trailed off, as he now stared at something over the girl's shoulder.

Ruby narrowed her eyes, then looked to where he was staring at, before gasping in surprise.

There was a visible crack on the wall.

"D-Did you hurt them!?" she shouted, eyes now glued on the damaged wall. She then whipped her head towards him, pouting as she folded her arms. "Kazuma…what else did you do?"

"I-I didn't hurt them I swear! The crack on the wall was caused by Ouroboros," Kval shook his head, "I would never do such a thing…well, unless it's necessary-"

"Kazuma!"

"I'm sorry!" He immediately shrunk under her gaze, looking down at his lap soon after. A sigh was heard, no doubt coming from Ruby, but still, he dared not to look at her. Her piercing gaze was the last thing he wanted to handle.

Even though he still knew little of Ruby, but the little reaper could be a bit dangerous when she was serious, not that she wasn't deadly already in terms of combat.

"Here."

"Huh?" Kval looked up, and saw the cookie being held towards him. He was puzzled by this, and tilted his head slightly as he asked, "Aren't you going to eat it?"

"No." She huffed. "I'm still not happy for what you did to the staff members, but at the same time…" she looked away, as her cheeks reddened, "…I'm really grateful to know that you would go that far as to make me feel better. S-So…thanks. A-And Yang always told me that I should share things with others, so I figured that…y-you'd like to have this cookie. It's the last one."

Kval stared at her, a small smile gracing his lips. The way she acted was adorable, and he wanted to tease her about it right then and there, but doing so would surely ruin the moment. Instead, he simply took the cookie, and broke it in two.

"Well, sharing is caring I guess," Kval chuckled, and the girl's reaction to what he had said made his smile grew a few inches. Looks like Ruby hadn't expected that, of all things. He tilted his head, then held out the treat towards her. "Here."

Ruby wanted to say something in return, but before she could the door to their room was busted open.

"Kyah!" she screamed.

The Huntress-in-training wasted no time in wrapping her arms tightly around his neck in sheer instinct, as if her life depended on it. She looked to the doorway with a frightened expression, eyes wide as saucers.

"R-Ruby!?" Kval nearly fell down on his bed from the sudden hug, but gave a sigh of relief when he managed to recover himself at the last second. However, his cheeks went red when Ruby began to press her body against his, and to top it all off, she didn't seem to realize what she was doing. "U-Uh…Ruby?"

Though, he had to admit that they were pretty soft for her age.

He quickly shook his head, pushing all the impure thoughts out the window.

"Take that you asshole!" the familiar voice yelled somewhere inside the room, which was accompanied by the sound of someone who was being choked.

"Release him this instant!" another voice, female, but this time it was unfamiliar.

The vessel narrowed his eyes, while doing his best to ignore the feeling of Ruby's soft breasts pressing up against his chest, and looked to the doorway. Though, what he saw was _not_ what he had expected.

Yang was currently straddling Jin on the floor, choking him with her bare hands, while an unfamiliar red-haired girl was doing her best to pull the blonde away from killing the asshole. Coco, Velvet, and a few other people he recognized were also there, along with a bunch of others which he didn't.

"Yang!?" Ruby gasped.

Everyone seemed to stop what they were doing upon hearing her voice, before each and every one of them turned to her with different expressions.

Silence filled the room, and Ruby was beginning to wonder why they were staring at her like that. In fact, she was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. Ruby knew that she wasn't the type of person who liked being at the center of attention, but she felt like she was missing something.

They stared, and stared, but none dared to say a word. It was unsettling, to say the least.

And why was Kval being quiet all of a sudden?

"Are we interrupting something?"

Ruby looked to the doorway, and saw her uncle, Qrow. From what she could see, the man was currently giving Kval the stink-eye, which confused her further, and it wasn't helping at all when she noticed that Yang was doing the same.

"Why are you…?" Ruby slowly trailed off, eyes widening themselves as her cheeks became slightly red.

It was now safe to say that Ruby had connected the dots, though it took a lot of time on her part.

"My word! This is just…unbelievable!" Professor Hazama exclaimed, though the shit-eating grin he had plastered across his face told everyone that he was amused by the whole situation. He was an asshole, so it wasn't really surprising that he'd act this way.

"Were they in the middle of doing the devil's tango?" Coco said with a wide smirk. "I'm impressed."

"Coco!" Velvet hissed, though her cheeks were red in color.

"I think they were gonna boop! Maybe we should-" Nora wanted to say, but Ren decided to save the day by covering her mouth before she could say anything else. The boy gave the two a knowing look, shaking his head afterwards as he smiled.

"Young love," Kagura sighed, grinning with his eyes closed.

Now completely embarrassed, Ruby wasted no time in pulling herself away from a red-faced Kval, before she quickly stood at the side of the bed.

"I-I can explain!"

"Oh no, I think it's best if I hear it from him instead," Qrow muttered, his hand trailing down to the large blade across his back. "But I'm not even sure if I wanna hear any of it."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby yelled as she held Kval's arm, who was trembling in his bed. "Stop it! And I'm not five anymore!"

"Wouldn't it be great for me to give him a bit of exercise? It won't take more than five minutes, I promise," Qrow assured, narrowing his eyes at Kval as he did so. "And maybe a bit of small talk would do the trick."

"I-I'm fine, but thanks for the offer," Kval said with a nervous laugh, shrinking under the man's terrifying gaze not too long after that. "I'll just stay quiet now…"

"There will be no fighting!" James raised his voice in order to make his presence known, before adding, "And Qrow, stop with the pointless act. I find it to be childish, and it's coming from you of all people."

"Who said I was acting?" he muttered.

"I don't know what's going on," Makoto began, "but would it kill you to get your ass off of him!? I know he's a prick at times-"

A glare from a certain NOL member was sent her way.

"-but what the hell did he do to upset you guys anyway!?"

Yang growled, "Tell her Weiss!"

Weiss nodded, then yelled, "This man tried to kill us!"

Makoto gave the heiress a blank stare, and instead of saying anything in return, she decided to bury her face in her hand and groan.

"Are you serious?"

"This is no laughing matter. And yes, we are serious," Blake told her.

"Well, I can't really help you guys from hating him so much I guess…" the squirrel beastkin mumbled.

 **-IIXII-**

She examined her work, and was satisfied by it. The bandages covered most of his wounds, and she had successfully stopped the bleeding, so she guess it was more than enough.

Whoever he was up against, it was clear that the man had barely made it out alive. She had saw the whole thing, of course, but had made sure to not interfere. And besides, she always preferred to observe things rather than handling them.

Not to brag or anything, but if she were to go against that masked guy, then she surely would've won with ease. He seemed slow, to be honest.

Though, she'll let him live. For now.

The woman knelt down in front of the unconscious man, and gently placed his weapon down beside him. She smiled, pulled her hood over her head, and stood back up.

And with that, she began to walk away.

"Guh…"

Monty coughed, and cracked his eyes open.

The first thing he saw was a white blur, but when he blinked, it vanished.

Surely his eyes were playing tricks on him.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Well, this is it. The end of Still Alive: Phase I.**

 **Though, I still can't believe I made it this far.**

 **I probably ended up shocking some, if not, all of you readers, and for that, I apologize. But I planned to end it here, so don't think I did it for some shitty reason. I'll be working on the sequel somewhere in the near future, but for now...I need a vacation.**

 **Also, did you guys know...that today is Still Alive's anniversary, and that I'm currently listening to Wings from the RWBY Volume 1 OST? Pretty crazy, don't you think?**

 **But to make things clear, I would've never gotten this far if it weren't for any of you guys, especially the ones who kept reviewing and pointing out my mistakes. I couldn't have done it alone.**

 **My special thanks goes to a lot of people, but I think now's a good time to make themselves known.**

 **SpecialMonitor22 - For giving me his helpful tips on how to improve, though I don't know where he went.**

 **moki0316 - For giving me countless of cool ideas, along for being a great and supportive friend.**

 **GameboyNinjaUltimate Icarus - For giving me his amazing reviews.**

 **Flashback Trip Syndrome - For also being supportive.**

 **A classmate of mine - For drawing a picture for my profile and LOAA's cover.**

 **Countless of others who I couldn't remember by name - If it weren't for you guys...I would've packed my bags a long time ago. So, thanks.**

 **Thank you. All of you. Just...thank you for enduring my crappy writing, and for being patient with me. You guys are seriously the best, y'know that?**

 **When I had posted Still Alive on this site, believe me when I say that I was nervous of what people might think of my idea. Though, no reviews actually came and told me anything. But I didn't give up, and as a result, Phase 2 was written not too long after Phase 1 was born.**

 **Well...I guess you could say that's when it happened. People finally decided to give me their thoughts by reviewing, and for that, I am grateful.**

 **Did you guys know that I didn't have an actual plot for this story? I mean, I came up with one the moment Phase 33 was posted, and that was just recently! Honestly, I'm amazed by this, not trying to brag or anything.**

 **Anyway, about the story.**

 **You guys probably have a lot of questions for me, which isn't really surprising. I'll try to answer as much as I can without spoiling anything, but no promises though.**

 **What timeline is this?**

 **This story is set after the events of RWBY Volume 2, with a bit of changes here and there, and after the events of the BlazBlue Phase Shift novels, which explains Kazuma Kval. Though, with BlazBlue's timeline being twisted as it is, the characters from Chrono Phantasma are from the long future. And since I just broke Chrono Phantasma, you could say that things ended a bit differently. I guess explaining further is unnecessary, lest I want to suffer from a minor headache.**

 **What caused the light in Phase 1?**

 **Someone, though it's pretty obvious who did it.**

 **What sort of connection does Terumi has with Summer?**

 **That...is a hard question. I can't say much, but things will clear a bit once the sequel comes out. For now, let's just say that Terumi had some sort of history with Summer. It's not a happy one, I assure you.**

 **Does Terumi need an Observer to observe him in order to survive?**

 **Yes, but for more info, you'll have to wait for the sequel. You'd be surprised...or not. It depends.**

 **Are there any changes in the characters?**

 **Yes, but not all of them. Like Terumi, some characters will have their very own background stories. This way, it'll be easier for me.**

 **Where the hell is Winter!?**

 **She's in...a hospital somewhere?**

 **Why is Roman Torchwick making his appearance in the last Phase!?**

 **It was...intentional...I guess?**

 **What is Relius up to?**

 **Well, the answer to that is pretty obvious.**

 **When will Still Alive: Phase II be released?**

 **It's gonna take a while, but worry not! I have more RWBY X BB story ideas prepared fresh from the oven! If you guys are curious on what I'll be working on, then check out my profile! Also, I drew something that might happen in the sequel. Curious? Go check it out on my DA account. My username is on my FF's profile, by the way. I'm not good at drawing, so don't expect much.**

 **Will more BlazBlue characters appear in the sequel?**

 **You bet they will!**

 **What am I going to do now?**

 **I'll be editing Still Alive from the very start. Someone's gotta kill all those spelling errors, right? After that, I'm gonna work on the last Phase of Kval's Birthday. The darn thing was postponed for a lot longer than I intended. And when that's done, I'll be working on LOAA's latest chapter, take a bit of rest, then start writing my other planned stories!**

 **Well, I guess I took this longer than I intended to, so I think it's best if I were to end it here.**

 **As always, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for all the support you've given me. You have no idea how happy I am, and again, I'm sorry for ending the story here. But like I said, it was intended.**

 **Anyway, thanks for staying, and remember to stay safe out there.**

 **This is CPL, over and out.**


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